Goodbye, Randy Pausch. Thanks for playing all your cards.

Randy Pausch died yesterday.

It was totally an expected event, as he was suffering from pancreatic cancer. He was 47-years-old, and leaves two small children and a loving wife. And it was his incredible gift to them that ended up inspiring the world.

If you have not heard Randy's gift, you must --you absolutely must-- give yourself the gift of watching. The gift was something college professors often called "The Last Lecture," an old tradition of giving one final speech before retirement. That name took on an entirely new meaning when Randy delivered his on September 19, 2007.

You can watch it right here...

It's a long view (more than an hour...) in that it's a real college lecture.

But, trust me, it's worth it. Sometime today, probably even this morning, it will very likely pass 4 million viewers.

Randy titled this lecture: "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"



Here's the direct link.

Randy's lecture was turned into a book, called "The Last Lecture." There's a great website here.

Near the end of the life, Randy liked to quote one of the lines from the Disney movie, "The Incredibles." (In fact, the entire family dressed as the Incredibles last Halloween.)

The line is: "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."

Thank you, Randy, for not giving up, and instead for giving this incredible gift to your family and the world and embodying the true teacher. Thanks for playing every card.