Conan O'Brien's Inspiring Farewell Speech

When Conan O'Brien bid an early adieu to The Tonight Show Friday night, he did so with class.

With obvious emotion, he thanked his fans. And while he could have taken the on-air opportunity to shoot some barbs at NBC, instead, he thanked the network that has served as his comedic home for most of his adult life.

We wouldn't have expected anything less from the man who handled one of the most controversial struggles in the history of television with grace and humor from the very start.

But what really floored us here at Tonic were the inspiring words he left his audience with at the very end. A message that will serve as an important footnote in O'Brien's long, and hopefully still-to-be-ongoing, career.

"All I ask is one thing," O'Brien said, "and I'm asking this particular of young people that watch. Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere."

"Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get," O'Brien continued. "But if you work really hard, and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you, amazing things will happen."

See the speech yourself in this video clip from the show, provided by Hulu.

Of course, O'Brien then went on to close out his seven-month Tonight Show run in classic Conan non-sequitor fashion: by introducing Will Ferrell, who led an all-star band (including O'Brien on electric guitar!) in the Lynard Skynard classic, "Freebird."

Watch and laugh. We'll miss you, Conan.

NBC has announced that Jay Leno will be taking over The Tonight Show again beginning March 1.