Randy Pausch

I've decided to tell my kids things like: 'I love the way each of you tilted back your heads when you laughed.' I will give them specific stuff they can grasp.

I always thought every day was a gift, but now I am looking for where to send the thank you note.

When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you.

Coach Graham rode you pretty hard, didn't he?" he said. I could barely muster a "yeah." That's a good thing," the assistant told me. When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, it means they've given up on you.

If you are hopeful, if you are optimistic, other people want to help you. And if you are down in the dumps, other people may still help you, but I've noticed that they're walking, not running, over to you.

Chemo days make me tired, though it's hard to say that's because of the chemo when you have kids who have inherited their dad's usual energy level.

Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls aren't there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show us how badly we want things.

The particular way I'm going to die is not going to be particularly pleasant. It will probably be physically uncomfortable, and it won't be an easy thing for my wife and kids to watch. I think it will be a real challenge to see if I can squeeze the lemons hard enough to still get lemonade the last few weeks.

Pretty much any time I got a chance to do something cool, I tried to grab for it, and that's where my solace comes from.

The metaphor I've used is... somebody's going to push my family off a cliff pretty soon, and I won't be there to catch them. And that breaks my heart. But I have some time to sew some nets to cushion the fall. So, I can curl up in a ball and cry, or I can get to work on the nets.

You can't get there alone. People have to help you, and I do believe in karma. I believe in paybacks. You get people to help you by telling the truth, by being earnest.

We don't beat the Reaper by living longer. We beat the Reaper by living well.

Remember how quickly our field [computer science] changes. That's why you want to focus on learning things that don't change: how to work well with other people, how to carefully assess a client's real - as opposed to perceived - needs, and things like that.

Find your passion and follow it. You wont find that passion in things or money. Your passion must come from what fuels you from the inside. It will be grounded in the relationships you have with people and what they think of you when your time comes.

One thing that makes it possible to be an optimist is if you have a contingency plan for when all hell breaks loose.

Don't bail; the best pieces of gold are at the bottom of the barrel of crap.

If I could only give three words of advice, they would be, 'Tell the truth.' If I got three more words, I'd add: 'All the time.'

We don't beat the reaper by living longer, but by living well, and living fully - for the reaper will come for all of us. The question is: what do we do between the time we're born and the time he shows up.

It is not the things we do in life that we regret on our death bed. It is the things we do not.

Luck is indeed where preparation meets opportunity.

There's a lot of talk these days about giving children self-esteem. It's not something you can give; it's something they have to build.