By
JAY BLOCK

The story is a sad one. He's dying of pancreatic cancer at age 47. In addition to the three beautiful children that won't have a Dad to grow up with, Randy Pausch is married to Jai, the love of his live and the woman of his dreams. Yes, the story is a sad one, but Pausch's legacy will live forever.

Randy Pausch is a Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh; and is a best-selling author, who achieved worldwide fame for his "The Last Lecture" speech on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon University. His best-selling book The Last Lecture, is touching millions of peoples' lives, around the globe, in a positive and empowering way.

This newsletter is NOT about Randy's cancer, misfortune, or even the powerful legacy he will leave - you'll have to read the book and watch "The Last Lecture" off the Internet yourself. However, this newsletter is about one of Randy's "take home messages" when he addressed the concept of "Fake- outs" in his lecture.

Excepts from The Last Lecture, as Presented by Randy Pausch

"Alice is a project that we worked on for a long, long time. It's a novel way to teach computer programming. Kids make movies and games. The ("fake out"). You see, again, we're back to ("fake outs"). The best way to teach somebody something is to have them think they're learning something else. ... the ("fake out") here is that they're learning to program but they just think they're making movies and video games. And the vision is clear. Millions of kids having fun while learning something hard. That's pretty cool. I can deal with that as a legacy. You gotta love "fake outs."

One of Pausch's students, Mark Tomczak, said, "Randy believes people are capable of more than they think they are, and encouraged us to push as far as we could."

Randy and Mark's comments got me thinking about how most of us really undervalue ourselves. We "fake ourselves out" and feel that we are less than we really are. So, my TAKE HOME MESSAGE to you in this newsletter is: Don't fake yourself out and take yourself for granted. Reacquaint yourself with your true self and your true potential - then, go out there and give life your very best shot !

BEWARE: Others are trying to Fake You Out !

A "fake out" is a deliberate or unintentional attempt to get us to believe and / or do something for a reason that is not necessarily the real reason (or the truth). We are given information that appears real and, because we don't evaluate the information or seek out the hidden meaning / agenda behind the information, we simply accept it; we buy into it. With minor exception, the media does a grand job at faking us out. Politicians and business leaders do a superb job in faking us out (Just listen to and study all the campaign promises over the years that weren't kept). And you know, not only well-intentioned influences in our lives do an excellent job in faking us out - we do a pretty good job of faking ourselves out on a regular basis !

1. We are in a recession - so there's no way I'll be able to get a good job or make good money
2. Gas prices are sky high - so this will have a severe impact on my quality of life and my family's quality of life
3. The news from around the world, including here in America, is so negative - it's hard for me to stay positive !
4. Work hard, follow the rules, go to college - so I'll get a good job and live a happy and prosperous life.

The BIG Fake Out is the difference between "Reality" and "Truth"

Our beliefs about reality create the "fake out" because what we perceive as the consequences of reality, in most cases, distorts the underlying truth. For instance, the reality is - we are in a recession. The "fake out" is that you can prosper in a recession if you are committed to doing so with a confident and can-do approach.

The reality is that gas prices are going through the roof. The "fake out" is that you can prosper and enjoy a high quality life with gas at $5, $6 a gallon or more.

The reality is that things around the world and here at home are pretty gloomy at the moment. But they were even more gloomy during the Great Depression and soon-to-follow World War II. The "fake out" is that there is always an abundance of opportunities in the midst of adversity and challenges - if you seek them out.

The reality is, most college graduates earn more than those people who do not go to college (yes, there are many exceptions; but generally speaking, this is a reality). However, the truth is that over 80% of the 161 million working Americans claim they are uninspired with their jobs and / or careers; and that their job-related stress and disenchantment contribute to other life problems such as health and relationship issues. The reality is that a college degree is valuable; but the "fake out" is that there are other life-inspiring and confidence-building options on how to attain a degree without being compelled to go to college straight out of high school. If most people are unhappy at work and with their jobs / careers, maybe we need to rethink what we continue to do that doesn't work particularly well. Maybe we're being "faked-out!"

Summary

I ask you to invest your intellect on behalf of your future. I ask you to encourage others to awaken themselves from this long ambivalent / apathetic nap we, as a nation, have collectively been taking. And I ask only that you look at reality and simply question your beliefs about that reality. As you may discover, most of those beliefs will NOT empower you or challenge you to achieve, succeed, and be as happy as you can.

Yes, we all have many reasons to be fearful, sad, frustrated, and disillusioned in these troubling and difficult times. But here's the ultimate "fake out:" There are literally a MILLION more reasons to be courageous, happy, motivated, and to live life on your terms - so you can achieve all that you are capable of. I suggest the more we all focus on the latter, the better we all will be.

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COACHES CORNER:

From: The Best of Bits & Pieces, Arthur F. Lenhan (1994 Economic Press, pp. 10-11)

After physicist Richard Feynman won a Nobel Prize (and he assisted in the development of the atomic bomb) for his work, he visited his old high school. While there, he decided to look up his records.

He was surprised to find that his grades were not as good as he had remembered them. And he got a kick out of the fact that his IQ was 124, not much above average.

Dr. Feynman said that winning the Nobel Prize was one thing; but to win it with an IQ of 124 was really something! Most of us would agree, because we all assume that the winners of Nobel prices have exceptionally high IQs.

If Feynman had known he was really just a bit above average in the IQ department, would he have had the audacity to launch the unique and creative research experiments that would eventually win him the greatest recognition the scientific community can give?

Perhaps not. Maybe the knowledge that he was a cut above average, but not in the genius category, would have influenced what he tried to achieve. After all, from childhood most of us have been led to believe that ordinary people don't accomplish extraordinary feats.

Most of us fall short of our potential because of the little things we know or assume about ourselves(and others). And the most self-defeating assumption of all is that we are just like everyone else.