Achieving your dreams

The other day I saw a youtube video of the last lecture of Randy Pausch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo He's a professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Melon University, which is a top tier school for computer science and engineering in the US. He's 47 years old and he's dying of pancreatic cancer. At the time of lecture, he's got only 3-4 months to live and he's still alive to this day, but barely. His lecture was about achieving his childhood dreams and helping others to achieve their dreams. I was really deeply moved by this man and his courage as he delivered his lecture. He's an amazing person, I doubt that I would have had as much courage and humor if I were in his shoes. There was an article in the Times about him and how he declined numerous TV interviews, a documentary, and a book contract because he wanted to spend more time with his family, his true number one priority. He was afraid that it would take away time from his family. In the end, we all think about our families as something that is there all the time and we don't really think about spending time with our family and take many things for granted. At the end of your life, will you regret about not spending enough time at your office or not spending enough time with your family? I am willing to bet that it would be the latter rather than the former. The following are the pieces of advice from Randy's lecture:
There are brick walls that deter us from getting things that we want. But we must not bail and must continue to surge ahead, because at the bottom of the barrel where most of the crap is condensated, you will find nuggets of gold.
Show gratitude. Don't complain, just work harder. Be good at something, it makes you valuable. Work hard and you will achieve success. Find the best in everybody. No one is evil, everyone has a good side to them, you just have to wait. It's not about how you achieve your dreams, it's about how to lead your life.