Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Last Lecture

I just finished reading the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (again) and liked it even better this time!!! I love his insights on what is important in life and how to make it the most enjoyable and successful you can. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

Criticism is good because "when you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you. ... Your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better." (p.37)

"Luck is indeed where preparation meets opportunity" (p 119)

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer." (p 149)

After reading this book it got me thinking about my views on life, how I am unique, what experiences and people have gotten me to where I am now, and what advice I would give to others. Here's a short list of things I came up with:

- I realized that what makes me unique is my ability to learn from other people's experiences. This is especially true of my sisters, I have learned so much about life and what I want and how to act just from watching them.
This also applies to making things, if I see an example of a craft or dinner idea, or outfit, etc. I tweak it to fit my style, personality, etc. but seeing what others have done always makes me more creative and gives me new ideas

-I have learned that complaining gets you no where, and it just annoys the people around you, the more you complain the less sympathy people have for you. Complaining makes it hard to have fun b/c all your attention is on the negative. Things go wrong all the time, rather than complaining, just change plans, or try to make it an adventure.
This has come in handy on almost all our family trips. Somethings always seems to go wrong, but it ends up making some of the most unforgettable memories. (Like when our boat broke down, and we got towed in by a sea-doo biker smoking a cigar while the water from his sea-doo landed arched in the air and landed right in our boat, and his buddies circled us on their sea-doos like vultures.)

-Some of the strongest relationships I have are with those I have had to go through really hard things with. There's just something about struggling, sweating, and pushing through hard things with others that makes a strong and lasting bond.
I realized this with my senior cross country team. None of us were anything a like, but by the end of the season we were the best of friends because we had been through so much together, knew we could count on each other and that we understood each other. It is also a time when I got to see the integrity and work ethic of others which reveals a lot about all other aspects of the person.

-Realizations I have come to: 1- If I don't like someone, its because I don't know them well enough. 2-The more I put something off the less likely it is to happen (for better or worse) 3-If you want to know who you are you first have to know who you want to be.

Other points to ponder:
What were God's last words were to us before he sent us here to earth.
What would you say to your children/family/friends if you were going to die?
Read Lehi's last lecture to his children.

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