Yesterday, I read the words of former White House press secretary Tony Snow, who died last week at the too early age of 53. He had written his thoughts about dealing with terminal cancer. His feelings about facing death in the context of his family and faith were insightful and eloquent.

Randy Pausch, a 47-year-old computer sciences professor facing similar news of incurable cancer, chose another direction. He decided to talk about his situation with his students in “The Last Lecture,” which was re-created for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” posted on YouTube, and turned into a best-selling book of the same name.

Although the backdrop for Randy’s farewell address was his impending death, he talked with exuberance, optimism, and insight about how to live wisely and fully. He urged his students to set lofty and meaningful goals, to persevere in the face of obstacles, and to live their lives so when their time came, they would have no regrets. His message was reminiscent of the teacher in the movie Dead Poets Society whose motto was carpe diem (“seize the day”).

Tim Russert, the likable and credible TV newsman, also passed away prematurely this year. But unlike Tony and Randy, he had no opportunity to formulate a final message as he died suddenly from a heart attack, leaving it to an army of family and friends to speak of his virtues and the meaning and purpose of his well-lived life.

Few of us will leave this earth with such fanfare, but the words and examples of these special men remind us of our mortality and the preciousness of the time we have to spend with the people we love and to do work we care about. As Disraeli said, “Life is too short to be little.”

We must learn from yesterday and plan for tomorrow – but live for today.

Here are some of Randy Pauch’s observations:
• Get the fundamentals down because the fancy stuff isn’t going to work.
• We can't change the cards we’re dealt, just how we play the hand.
• Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
• The brick walls aren’t there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.
• You just have to decide if you’re a Tigger or an Eeyore.
• Don’t bail. The best of the gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap.
• Don’t complain. Work harder.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

* Unbeknownst to me, a few hours after I wrote this commentary, Randy Pausch died at his home in Virginia. In his next-to-last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University, he told the audience, “I don’t know how to not have fun. I’m dying and I’m having fun. And I’m going to keep having fun every day I have left because there’s no other way to play it.” Learn more about how Pausch lived his life here.