Jeff Zaslow's Last Lesson

You've read on this blog about Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon professor who delivered his "Last Lecture" after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Did you know that the journalist who co-authored the best-seller -- The Last Lecture -- had equally powerful lessons to share through his life -- and death?

CNN contributor Bob Green and Wall Street Journal columnist Jeff Zaslow, longtime friends, were supposed to get together on March 4th to hang out. But the meeting never took place. Zaslow had been killed instantly in a car accident in February.

Green dealt with the painful anticipation of an excruciatingly quiet dinner alone on March 4th by sharing in a column "a lesson from him that I believe can be used to great effect by anyone, regardless of his or her line of work."

I could easily summarize in 250 words or less the key message of Green's essay that took my breath away. But it just wouldn't be the same as reading his piece. So try to find two minutes to read Zaslow's lessons about luck, hard work, expectations of rewards and purpose in life.  To read, click here.

Comments

[Anonymous]

Thank for bringing this to us.

[danny e bloome]

Wendy, I beg to differ, read this and comment back to me or blog here?

http://plogspot101.blogspot.com/2012/03/open-letter-to-cnn-columnist-bob-greene.html

[Wendy S. Harpham, MD]

Mr. Bloome,

Followers of this blog know that Healthy Survivorship involves determining the focus of our attention and energies each day. It's a dynamic process that is always a work-in-progress.

Since it is unreasonable to review our priorities and guage the costs and rewards of everything we say and do, we develop patterns of behavior. Still, on a regular basis we step back and reassess if these priorities are in proper order under the current circumstances.

When faced with new choices or situations, we resume the energy-demanding process of reflection and assessment.

Healthy Survivors also understand that each of us forges and follows a unique path to getting good care and living fully. And as long as we are true to ourselves, it doesn't matter if others make judgments.

With hope, Wendy