Not long ago I took a book off the shelf in my office that I had read several years earlier. It is entitled, “The Last Lecture.” It was written by Randy Pausch. Randy was a terminally ill professor who was literally given the opportunity to give one final lecture to his college students before his death. His lecture wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming all the obstacles life throws at a person and learning how to seize every moment of every day and how to make that moment count. It was about how his life circumstances forced him to learn to focus on the things that really matter. In short, it was about living.
As I thumbed through the book rereading things I had highlighted, I compiled a list of ten principles, practices, or things that I believe would be beneficial to all of us. I trust you will find them beneficial:
1: In the original series, “Star Trek,” James T. Kirk was the Captain of the Star Ship “Enterprise.” However, if you are familiar with the series, you know that Kirk wasn’t the smartest guy on the ship. Mr. Spock, the science officer, was the logical intellect onboard. Dr. McCoy had all the medical knowledge available to mankind in the 2060’s. And Scotty was the chief engineer, who could keep the ship running – even when under attack by aliens. To those reading this column today, I would say to you that, as Kirk, you don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. However, you must realize the importance of learning to tap into the brains of people, smarter than you, who already know what you need to know. You won’t live long enough to learn everything. Therefore, learn to “borrow brains” and to use the resources available to you, so you can be the best you possible!
2: No matter how bad things are, you can always make them worse. Don’t! First, do no harm! (Hippocratic Oath!) My greatest prayer is for God to protect me – from me! Too many times I am “the fly in the ointment” that is making things worse! I need to live by the advice I give others: “When you don’t know what to do, stop and evaluate! Don’t make things worse!”
3: Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. (Ouch!)
4: The best shortcut is often the long way. (The way you know!)
5: Sometimes, the questions are more important than the answers.
6: When flying in an airplane and the oxygen masks deploy, put your mask on before trying to help anybody else. When you experience “turbulent days,” in life, do those things first that insure your mental, emotional, and physical health. You cannot help anybody if you’re laying in the floor passed out!
7: When you find yourself in the wilderness, the only things you can count on are the things you brought with you. (Be sure you have prepared yourself for the wilderness moments you will face in life!)
8: Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. (The more prepared I am, the luckier I am!)
9: Whether you think you can or can’t – you’re right! Proverbs 23:7KJV, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Your attitude determines your altitude!)
10: Not everything (or everybody) needs to be fixed. (Wow!)
I hope you will clip this article, read it often, and meditate upon these truths.
Brother Aaron