If you had six months to live, what would you do?  Would you go visit relatives you hadn't seen for a long time?  Would you make sure all the people you love know it?  Would you spend a lot of money?  Save a lot of money?  Climb Mount Everest?  Volunteer at a homeless shelter?   What would you do if you had six months to live?

If you were Professor Randy Pausch, you would go on record and give one last lecture.  Randy Pausch is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.  In September 2006, Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Pancreatic cancer is the most deadly of all cancers with a less than 5% survival rate.   Despite the horrible odds, Pausch decided he was going to fight the disease.  After withstanding surgery, extremely toxic chemotherapy, and months of horrendous treatments, he showed signs of progress.

Unfortunately, in August 2007, the cancer returned.  This time, it had metastacized to his liver and spleen.  The doctors gave him three to six months to live.  At the time, he and his wife had three children under the age of six.  Pausch was only 47 years old.  He promptly made up his mind to live the remainder of his life to the fullest extent possible.  In fact, he decided to invite others along for the ride.  He invited everyone he knew to attend The Last Lecture.

The Last Lecture, which has now been made famous by interviews on ABC's Good Morning America and NightLine shows, among others, is an inspirational lecture about what a person might do if they knew their time on earth was limited.  If you haven't already done so, watch the full 45 minute lecture here.  You are guaranteed to be challenged and inspired.

I happened to see a news story about this in the Fall of 2007, soon after Professor Pausch gave that lecture.  The parts of the lecture I saw were fascinating.  Professor Rausch challenged his audience to think about their lives and to live every moment as if it were their last.  Last week, a book by the same title, The Last Lecture, was published, and the media attention swelled to a frenzy.  You may have already done the math: it is April 2008 and that is eight months past August 2007.  Professor Rausch is still alive.

According to his blog, his is a day to day struggle.  But, he has never lost his enthusiasm for life or his positive attitude.  He tackles each day with a renewed sense of commitment and determination.  We should each greet every day with the kind of energy and drive that Randy Pausch demonstrates day in and day out.

If you had six months to live, what would you do?  Whatever you answered, don't wait until you have six months left.  Go out there and do it now. 

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
--Randy Pausch



Note: The health information herein was taken from Randy Pausch's personal website and was not gained through any access to medical records or other documents covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.