The contributors to this blog have been known to be more than a little cynical about advice to entrepreneurs from academics.

However, an exception must be made in the case of Professor Randy Pausch, who died last week.

Significantly, he was a Professor of Computer Science and not of Business Administration.

He became famous for his “Last Lecture”, delivered last autumn after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

With a good humour that seems incredible under the circumstances, he tried to sum up what life in general had taught him. The Last Lecture became a sensation on YouTube.

Much of what he said is of little direct application to business, but one of his principles, on how to react to seemingly insurmountable obstacles, should be inscribed on the heart of every entrepreneur:

“Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.”

We could all do with a teacher like that.