“Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.”

I’ve been trying to maintain as much of a positive attitude as possible since having learned my diagnosis, and it’s been relatively easy for a couple reasons: one, because the surgery hasn’t actually happened yet, and for the most part I’m in the same shape I was before I discovered the news; and two, because I am simply not the kind of person to dwell on things that are out of my control. For whatever reason, the latter probably has more to do with the way I’m made up versus a personal mantra I force myself to live by; either way, it works for me.

The other day a friend forwarded me one of the more inspiring videos I’ve seen in a long time – coincidentally, one that supports the strength of this subject. The video features an uplifting lecture by Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch, who, though seemingly in remarkable health, only has months to live. His circumstances are grave, yet his attitude is awe-inspiring and often times, fascinating. Honestly, this video is like Oprah’s show on steriods.

And while Randy Pausch’s life-threatening diagnosis and mine are light years apart — mine will hopefully only result in a couple months of rehabilitation and the loss of one ear’s functionality -- there are strong similarities between our perspectives of choosing to cope with the cards you’ve been dealt.

If you have some time, I know you’d enjoy watching Randy’s "lecture of a lifetime". This guy is nothing short of amazing and his story really will make you realize what’s most important in your lives.

Before watching the video, you can gain some insightful background info on Randy Pauch and the lecture series here.

Note: you may want to press play and allow the video to download for a minute or so and fast-forward to 8 minutes in — this is when the introductions are over and Randy begins to speak.