There are many ways to focus on what you believe is important in life. One approach is to clarify the messages you would give people if you was invited to give a Last Lecture.
This is a long-standing academic tradition. Many places of learning ask a key figure to give their version of a Last Lecture. The person is invited to pass on knowledge or wisdom they may have learned in their life.
Sometimes the students nominate such a person. On other occasions an institution will simply invite an outside speaker. Sometimes this may also take the form of an address to students who are beginning their studies or leaving the place of learning.
The nominated person chooses the topic they wish to cover in the lecture. Some focus on their field of expertise. Some pass on knowledge. Some give messages about the things they have learned in their lives.
Randy Pausch gave a famous Last Lectures that went viral. He began by describe what he wasn’t going to talk about – such as his journey with cancer or his loved ones.
Randy said that the Last Lecture format was maybe appropriate for him because he did not necessarily have long to live. He then described what he wanted to talk about.
“All right, so what is today’s talk about then? It’s about my childhood dreams and how I have achieved them.
“I’ve been very fortunate that way. How I believe I’ve been able to enable the dreams of others, and to some degree, lessons learned.
“I’m a professor, there should be some lessons learned and how you can use the stuff you hear today to achieve your dreams or enable the dreams of others.
“And as you get older, you may find that “enabling the dreams of others” thing is even more fun.”
Randy’s talk is well worth watching. It can also be useful to watch many of the other videos of various people delivering their versions of the Last Lecture.
Sometimes I have used an adaption of this format when running workshops. On some occasions individuals have wanted to clarify their life philosophy and what they believe is important in life.
There are many exercises on these themes. This approach invites individuals to prepare and then present a ten-minute version of their Last Lecture. This is a challenging task.
Many people have found it rewarding to share their ideas, however, and also listen to others give their presentations. The exercise invites individuals to do the following things.
To think of a title for their Last Lecture;
To outline the key messages they would like to give to people if they were invited to give their version of a Last Lecture;
To bring each of these messages to life by giving examples of how they can be translated into action.
The final point is important. This encourages people to go beyond simply saying, for example:
“Be true to yourself.”
Such headlines might provide good advice. But showing how these can be translated into daily life can have a much greater effect.
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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