Quote Of The Day By Conan O'Brien: 'Nobody In Life Gets Exactly What They Thought They Were Going To Get. But...'

Getting pushed out of "The Tonight Show" in 2010 could have embittered Conan O'Brien. Instead, it inspired one of his most enduring pieces of advice.

O'Brien began his television career as a writer on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in 1988 before moving to Fox's "The Simpsons" in 1991, where he remained through 1993. During his tenure there, he wrote the Season 4 episode "Marge vs. the Monorail" before departing to succeed David Letterman as host of NBC's "Late Night" in 1993.

In 2004, NBC announced that O'Brien would succeed Jay Leno as host of "The Tonight Show" in 2009. But as Leno's departure approached, the network became reluctant to lose its longtime late-night star. Rather than letting him leave, NBC gave Leno a new primetime series at 10 p.m., which premiered in September 2009 ahead of local news broadcasts, followed by O'Brien's "Tonight Show." It was ultimately a ratings disaster that depressed local news ratings, further hurting O'Brien's audience at 11:35 p.m., which had already begun losing its lead over CBS' "The Late Show" before Leno's 10 p.m. debut.

By January 2010, NBC had decided to shrink "The Jay Leno Show" to a half-hour and move it to 11:35 p.m., pushing O'Brien's "Tonight Show" into tomorrow. Rather than continue hosting the show after midnight, O'Brien stepped down just seven months into his tenure, accepting a buyout that kept him off television for seven months before resurfacing on TBS with the eponymous talk show "Conan." He remained there for 11 years before retiring from late-night television in 2021, but has remained a pop culture mainstay thanks to his HBO Max travelogue "Conan O'Brien Must Go," his popular podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend," and multiple turns as host of the Academy Awards.

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

The above quote comes from Conan O'Brien's final broadcast as host of NBC's "The Tonight Show," which aired January 22, 2010. During his closing remarks, O'Brien expressed gratitude not only for the "joyous" and "inspirational" outpouring of support from fans, but also for the network he had called home for a cumulative 20 years, despite their differences at the time. Before signing off, he also offered one final piece of advice to those watching at home who might have been upset to see him pushed out of his dream job: "Please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism. It's my least favorite quality, and it doesn't lead anywhere."

O'Brien's message boils down to a simple truth: life rarely goes according to plan. Hard work doesn't necessarily guarantee your desired outcome, but accepting the cards you've been dealt — and finding a way to make them work for you — is key to moving forward. Rather than dwelling on what might have been, O'Brien encourages us to focus on what comes next, trusting that amazing things can still happen even when life takes an unexpected turn.

To cling to resentment and let an unforeseen setback shape your outlook is to embrace the very cynicism O'Brien warns against. Instead, he argues that choosing kindness, gratitude, and hope leaves room for new opportunities to emerge.

"There is nothing more liberating than having your worst fear realized." — from a June 2011 Dartmouth College commencement speech

"It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound reinvention." — from a June 2011 Dartmouth College commencement speech

"Whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that, through disappointment, you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality." — from a June 2011 Dartmouth College commencement speech