Inspiration

With over 10 million Americans battling cancer the chances are pretty good that you know someone who is currently fighting cancer or has fought cancer in the past. I lost my Uncle Bob to cancer several years ago. Bob was one of the biggest-hearted people you could possibly meet. He lived in Wisconsin so I didn't get to see him that often but I remember our visits to the dairy state when I was a kid and young adult. Bob always had time for the nieces and nephews and taught me a lot of things that kids growing up in California may not be familiar with.

Another person whose fight against cancer has inspired me is David, a 12-year old San Jose kid who was on the robotics team I coached in 2006. David is a real trouper with an indomitable spirit that is truly inspiring. His determination and drive to be just like the other kids, while undergoing fairly aggressive chemo treatments, is something I think about sometimes when the going gets tough.

Two other people I never met but who have provided more inspiration for me are Jimmy Valvano and Randy Pausch. In 1993 Jimmy V, as he is often called, gave a moving speech at the ESPY awards. In this speech he said that everyone should strive to do three things every day:

• Laugh
• Think
• Cry ("have your emotions moved to tears")
  

"If you laugh, you think and you cry, that's a full day, that's a heck of a day," he said. The first two items on that list are easy. If you need any assistance with the third item then I recommend watching his 10 minute speech on YouTube. His cancer foundation's motto is: "Don't give up. Don't ever give up." Words to live by.

Randy Pausch is someone you may have heard about already. His Last Lecture video and book became internet sensations a few months ago, and for good reason. I first encountered his work when I downloaded Alice, a programming environment for kids that I was interested in as way to help my kids and robotics team members learn to program in a fun and engaging environment. Randy's group at Carnegie Mellon University was responsible for this great programming tool. More recently, however, Randy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he's chosen to spend his remaining days helping others achieve their childhood dreams through his words of wisdom. This 11 minute video from his Oprah appearance provides a short but inspiring glimpse of this amazing person. I've also read his Last Lecture book and highly recommend it. You can also follow Randy's journey on his personal information page.

If there is somebody you would like me to honor during my ride, please let me know. I will display a list of all honorees during my ride. I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to do this yet, but the actual form of the list will depend on the number of names on it.