I often visit libraries. Today was one such day.
Generally when I go I have something in mind to get, return etc. But often a part of my library routine in just to "walk the stacks." I spent most of that time in the history or the biography sections.
One of the books I have recently read in my walking the stacks was Randy Pausch's book The Last Lecture. Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Learning of such he beginning writing what he came to call his last lecture. His writings had to do with things he considered of major importance, overcoming obstacles, etc. In essences it was kinda his summation of what he believed was really important.
One of the things Pausch hit upon was the importance of time. Everyone has only so much of it and it is important to manage it properly. When I think of time I recall one of my grand kids sitting with me at my coffee place on my seventy birthday and his saying to me:
"Pop Pop you know what's bad about birthday's? It means you got less time to live."
On the subject of time Pausch hit upon five thoughts that have stayed with me:
1.Time must be explicitly manage, like money.
2.You can always change your plan, but only if you have one.
3.Ask yourself: Are you spending your time on the right things?
4.Develope a good filing system.
5.Rethink the telephone.
One of the things I got from his thoughts about time was we only got so much so try and figure out what is really important with it. I like a statement he made that had to do with time:
"It doesn't really matter how well you polish the underside of the banister."
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May 5, 2016
Keep on,
Larry Adamson