Sometimes you get a nugget of good advice in an very unexpected place.

Regardless of the spectacle going on around him, Conan managed to deliver a “speech” that I assume made a lot of politicians envious. There wasn’t a person watching that wasn’t moved by his words, or at the very least reminded that we have all become much too arrogant about where we find wisdom.

A late-night host delivered some of the best advice we could hear right now.  It applies to our political climate, our economy, and the tone of far too many conversations these days.

Hell, cynicism is running rampant in my generation.  We’re trying to build careers and lives in an economic, political, corporate and business environment being defined by rampant greed, diminished ethics, and profoundly short-term thinking.

And a late-night host shared a few words, putting his own plight in perspective, culminating in a piece of advice that is well-worth revisiting:

“Please don’t be cynical.”

I didn’t expect to get a sense of perspective from Conan O’Brien.  But I’m damn well gonna take it.

It’s easy to sit back and complain about the people running the banks, and easier to bitch about our politicians… taking a page from John Mayer and declaring that the “fight ain’t fair.”

But cynicism has permeated so much of our culture that it’s just starting to look like activism for the lazy.  And it’s leading to a lot of dead-ends.

If I learned anything after years of watching this late-night host, it’s that I’m far too cynical, far too often.

So… if those evil, greedy, miserable network lawyers don’t get YouTube to pull down this clip, I’ll be revisiting it from time to time to get an attitude adjustment. ;)

Conan O’Brien says goodbye and thanks to NBC and his fans