Quotes from Randy Pausch

When they [parents and educators] talk of building self-esteem, they often resort to empty flattery rather than character-building honesty. I've heard so many people talk of a downward spiral in our educational system, and I think one key factor is that there is too much stroking and too little real feedback.

No matter how bad things are, you can always make them worse.

Find the best in everybody... you might have to wait a long time, sometimes years, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting no matter how long it takes. No one is all evil. Everybody has a good side, just keep waiting, it will come out. (p. 22)

I'll take an earnest person over a hip person any time, because hip is short-term. Earnest is long-term.

I've found that a substantial fraction of many people's days is spent worrying about what others think of them. If nobody ever worried about what was in other people's heads, we'd all be 33 percent more effective in our lives and on our jobs.

Smart isn't enough. The kind of people I want on my research team are those who will help everyone else feel happy to be here." p118

There is more than one way to measure profits and losses. On every level, institutions can and should have a heart.

Time must be explicitly managed, like money.

During the most painful times of my treatment, Rocky was an inspiration because he reminded me: It's not how hard you it. It's how hard you get hit...and keep moving forward.

who come out limp often have the most trouble. But the ones who come out all pissed off and full of noise, they're the fighters. They're the ones who thrive.

no matter how bad the circumstance it could always be worse.

As I see it, a parent's job is to encourage kids to develop a joy for life and a great urge to follow their own dreams. The best we can do is to help them develop a personal set of tools for the task. So my dreams for my kids are very exact: I want them to find their own path to fulfillment. And given that I won't be there, I want to make this clear: Kids, don't try to figure out what I wanted you to become. I want you to become what you want to become. Having

We cannot change the cards we are delt, just how we play the hand

If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you.

Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.

We didn't buy much, but we thought about everything.

Ask Disney World workers: 'What time does the park close?' They're supposed to answer "The park is open until 8 p.m.'... I knew then. That's the way the rest of my life would need to be lived.

Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun.

Be prepared luck is truly where preparation meets opportunity

When we make something hard to use, people get upset. They become so angry that they want to destroy it. We don't want to create things that people will want to destroy

I quote my father to people almost every day. Part of that is because if you dispense your own wisdom, others often dismiss it; if you offer wisdom from a third party, it seems less arrogant and more acceptable. Of course, when you have someone like my dad in your back pocket, you can't help yourself. You quote him every chance you get.

Let other people finish their sentences when they're talking.

Don't Obsess Over What People Think

If you wait long enough," he said, "people will surprise and impress you." As he saw things: When you're frustrated with people, when they've made you angry, it just may be because you haven't given them enough time. Jon warned me that sometimes this took great patience— even years. "But in the end," he said, "people will show you their good side. Almost everybody has a good side. Just keep waiting. It will come out.