The Last Lecture

Jeffrey Zaslow, Randy Pausch

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 2008

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Section 5, Chapters 41-45Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Section 5: “It’s About How to Live Your Life”

Section 5, Chapters 41-45 Summary

In this section Pausch offers specific examples of how his good collaborative skills have paid off, even if the gestures were small. He praises “the lost art of thank-you notes” and the importance of having gratitude for the people around you. He helped a woman become a Disney Imagineer because of the sincere and handwritten thank-you note included in her application package, and now Dennis Cosgrove is returning the favor Pausch did him years ago by taking over the Alice project after Pausch dies. Whether it’s taking his crew to Disney World or sending Thin Mints to colleagues, Pausch provides several examples of how even small gestures can set a person apart as special.

Section 5, Chapters 41-45 Analysis

Pausch’s life advice moves beyond his students in this section by addressing relationship skills outside the classroom; he includes examples from his own career to emphasize the point. By discussing his own experiences with his colleagues, Pausch demonstrates that he practices what he preaches. In hindsight, he knows, through his own experience, what has worked in creating positive relations with his peers and how this has helped him along his own career path and helped others as well. All his examples in this section illustrate how he has reaped the rewards of treating people well by showing gratitude for their help, because “loyalty is a two-way street”.