Randy Pausch
Pausch delivered his "Last Lecture", titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", at CMU on September 18, 2007. He gave an abridged version of his speech on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in October 2007. The talk was modeled after an ongoing series of lectures where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk", with a topic such as "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?" Before speaking, Pausch received a long standing ovation from a large crowd of over 400 colleagues and students. When he motioned them to sit down, saying, "Make me earn it", someone in the audience shouted back, "You did!"
Joseph Roberts (motivational speaker)
Joe Roberts departed the business sector and focused on speaking to children/youth based on the idea that if he could transform, anyone could. Roberts realized he had a passion for transformation and decided to focus on philanthropic advocacy and motivational speaking. In 1998 Roberts began speaking to youth about drug prevention. He shared both his successes and failures inside school and youth programs. Roberts quickly learned that his authenticity allowed young people to listen and take action in their own lives. Joe found himself speaking and sharing his story in schools, but quickly expanded into the business world. He found businesses were interested in not only his success, but also by the fact that he was once homeless and able to share his story of overcoming adversity to become successful1. These two audiences began to grow, and associations, businesses and conferences began to request Roberts to share his story.
Today Roberts has spoken to well over a million people from elementary school students, to CEOs and government officials. By using his lived experience, both as a person who experienced homelessness and a successful Canadian entrepreneur, Roberts’ message resonates across all sectors and groups1. The release of Roberts’ national best seller, 7 Secrets to Profit from Adversity (2003) led to speaking to different clients across many industries. Roberts realized the impact that sharing his story had on youth, which led to The Push for Change Foundation.