Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun.
Randy PauschRead
Throughout my academic career, I'd given some pretty good talks. But being considered the best speaker in the computer science department is like being known as the tallest of the Seven Dwarfs.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote humorously suggests that being the best in a small, less significant group isn't truly impressive.
Randy Pausch uses humor to illustrate that being recognized as the best speaker in a limited field, such as the computer science department, carries little weight, much like being the tallest among the Seven Dwarfs. This self-deprecating analogy emphasizes the importance of context in measuring success and highlights how certain achievements may not be as remarkable as they seem when compared to larger standards.
Themes
HumorSuccessAchievementPerspectiveSelf-Deprecation
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote during a speech to break the ice and share a lighthearted view on success.
More from Randy Pausch
All quotes →I'm attempting to put myself in a bottle that will one day wash up on the beach for my children.
Randy PauschRead
It's hard to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer - people who get it don't live long enough.
Randy PauschRead
Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want
Randy PauschRead
Cancer didn't change me at all. I know lots of people talk about the life revelation. I didn't have that.
Randy PauschRead
I think that we all stand on the dartboard of life. Roughly 30,000 people a year are going to catch a dart labeled pancreatic cancer, and that's unfortunate. It's not what I would have chosen. But I in no way feel like I deserved it.
Randy PauschRead
Similar quotes
The only weapon I've got is comedy
Mel BrooksRead
A month's salary, deep regret, the telephone number of some foul rehab clinic and my lance was free.
Stephen FryRead
We want to get people laughing; we don't want to offend anybody.
Mel BrooksRead
The exquisite code of politeness of the Woosters prevented me clipping her one on the ear-hole, but I would have given a shilling to be able to do it. There seemed to me something deliberately fat-headed in the way she persisted in missing the gist.
P. G. WodehouseRead
I don't get up, get dressed, go out, and think, 'Okay, I gotta find eight jokes.'
Steven WrightRead
I think that comedy really tells you how it is. The other thing about comedy is that - you don't even know if you're failing in drama, but you do know when you're failing in comedy. When you go to a comedy and you don't hear anybody laughing, you know that you've failed.
Carl ReinerRead