Yesterday, Randy Pausch died. He was the computer scientist from Carnegie Mellon University who delivered the famous "Last Lecture". I read the book of the same name about two months ago and will read it again as soon as I finish my current books. I have mentioned this book before and I will say again: "READ THIS BOOK!" We all face death as we all face life. He talks about living your dreams, having fun in life, and don't sweat the small stuff. I identify with him in that I have always had Walt Disney's Imagineers as role models, too. In his book he tells the story about how years after his first trip to Disney World as a child he told the Disney Brass this story:
He and his sister wanted to buy their parents a gift, and they searched the many stores and found a vase for them, bought it and left the store. After walking a short distance, one of them lost their grip on the sack and it fell breaking the gift. A bystander saw this happen and went to them and told them to return it and ask for a new one. Randy told them that it was their fault not Disney's. The person told them to give it a try. They went back to the shop and told the clerk the truth about the accident and to their surprise, the clerk gave them a new vase.
They later told their parents of the incident. Pausch says that he told the Disney people that the gift exchange made Disney many thousands of dollars in the years since. His father was so impressed he continued to return with his family and brought about 20 underprivileged children a year to the park.
Doing Good is rewarding in unexpected ways.
This book is worth your time.
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