Conan O'Brien’s final words on the 'Tonight Show' is priceless advice every cynic needs to hear

We often meet people who are very cynical in their approach toward things. Popular talk show host Conan O’Brien had an internet-worthy moment when he spoke about the same topic during the final episode of "The Tonight Show" in January 2010. An old clip of the veteran TV host giving his audience a life lesson on the subject has been widely circulating on Reddit since being shared by u/BDWG4EVA and is still resonating with those tuning in.

During his monologue segment, O’Brien spilled the beans on how he used to hate people with a cynical nature. “Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it’s my least favorite quality,” remarked the renowned comedian who anchored the NBC show. The fact that O’Brien stated this after an unceremonious exit following 22 years of serving the television network showed his preference to look on the brighter side of things.

O’Brien, who now hosts his own podcast, went on to share a lesson that kept him humble despite tasting massive professional success. “Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get,” he said, adding that people tend to become bitter as a result. After making his statement on cynicism and how it doesn’t “lead anywhere,” O’Brien shared his secret to achieving “amazing” feats in life.

“If you work really hard and you are kind, amazing things will happen. I am telling you, amazing things will happen,” he reassured his beloved audience. O’Brien moved forward in his pursuit to helm his flagship TBS late-night talk show, forgiving what was described as his “acrimonious departure” from NBC. However, the fifth installment of "The Tonight Show," anchored by him, later received four Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.

The 20-second message by O’Brien, given as he bid farewell amid the uncertainty looming over his TV career, moved people on social media. More so, the footage featuring his classic look has garnered around 4.8K upvotes, with several people commenting on it. Among them, u/Additional_Subject27 wrote, “I love Conan's remote segments. Sometimes, I just keep the playlist running in the background all day.” Hailing O'Brien's words, u/BodhingJay shared, "In order for a person to succeed in this, they must first learn how to get over being cruel to themselves in order to direct their kindness inward."

Offering a different perspective, u/Mediocre-Sundom added, “I too dislike cynicism, but I also dislike false expectations and wishful thinking. Both amazing and terrible things happen to both amazing and terrible people, and we have very little control over that.” u/Mountain_Image_8168 commented, “I think the message is more of a ‘trust the process.’ At the very least, it will lead to amazing things, but that doesn’t mean bad things will never happen. Also, what’s amazing might be different in reality than what you thought. Be good, do good.” u/mutie_the_mailman conveyed, "Well if you're being kind and working hard, I'm sure you're making amazing things happen for other people. You're not getting exactly what you want, but it's making things in general better."