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Conan O’Brien entertains graduates with inspiring and hilarious commencement address

"Though you should not fear failure, you should do your very best to avoid it."

That's just one of the great lines Conan O'Brien included in a commencement address that won the hearts and laughs of students at Dartmouth College this past weekend. He also picked up an honorary degree, and many would argue, solidified his place as "the undisputed champion of the commencement speech."

Breaking with the tradition of boring commencement addresses, Conan filled his 24-minute speech with hilarious student-life anecdotes and self-deprecating humour:

"Today, you have achieved something special, something only 92 per cent of Americans your age will ever know: a college diploma. That's right, with your college diploma you now have a crushing advantage over 8 per cent of the workforce. I'm talking about dropout losers like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg…"

In moments of poignancy, Conan turned his own late-night catastrophe-turned-success drama into encouragement, stating that "there are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized."

"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."

His motivational address concluded with Conan-style reassurance:

"At the end of my final program with NBC, just before signing off, I said 'Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.' Today, receiving this honour and speaking to the Dartmouth Class of 2011 from behind a tree trunk, I have never believed that more."

Read the entire transcript here.

What's the best commencement address you've ever heard?