As he signed off as host of "The Tonight Show" for the last time on January 22, Conan O'Brien instructed his audience to lose the bitterness that so many felt about the way NBC had handled its late-night shows.

"All I ask is one thing, and I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch: Please do not be cynical," he said. "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. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."

Apparently this is becoming quite a widely-circulated "mantra" among folks in their 20's and 30's, and it's certainly a helpful thought for all of us, no matter what our age.