8 Jimmy Fallon Quotes to Motivate You -- and Make You Laugh While he might seem all fun and games, there's much to learn from the beloved late-night host.

By Rose Leadem

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Success doesn't happen overnight. It takes passion, hard work and commitment. Just look at late-night host Jimmy Fallon. Since childhood, Fallon was set on becoming an entertainer, and he made it known too. In junior high, Fallon was dubbed "Most likely to replace David Letterman" by his classmates in his yearbook superlatives. In high school, the soon-to-be celebrity worked hard perfecting his comedic craft by taking part in school plays and competing in stand-up comedy competitions.

Related: 50 Inspirational Quotes to Motivate You

College didn't last long for Fallon, who was itching to chase his dreams in the city of angels. However, after some time in Los Angeles, the aspiring comedic moved back to New York when he had the opportunity of a lifetime: an audition for Saturday Night Live. As the perfect platform to launch his career, Fallon became a household name thanks to his celebrity impressions and hilarious skits on SNL.

It wasn't before long that Fallon would get the spotlight he'd always dreamed of. In 2008, Fallon replaced Conan O'Brien on NBC's Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and five years later took over Jay Leno's nightly slot with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, becoming one of the most-watched late night shows today.

Related: 17 Inspirational Quotes from Oscar-Winning Movies

With a number of Emmy awards and even a Grammy, it's safe to say Fallon's living his dreams. To follow in his footsteps, take a look at these eight quirky, yet inspirational quotes from the talk show host extraordinaire.

On having fun

""Have fun' is my message. Be silly. You're allowed to be silly. There's nothing wrong with it." -- Jimmy Fallon

On growth

"Listening is more important than talking. Just hit your mark and believe what you say. Just listen to people and react to what they are saying." -- Jimmy Fallon

On hard work

"Anything I learned was just work hard, just keep working and don't worry about the outside stuff. Whatever happens will happen." -- Jimmy Fallon

Related: 9 Motivational Quotes from Serena Williams

On growth

"I don't want to admit it, but I do enjoy the feedback from the audience. It's instant feedback." -- Jimmy Fallon

On perseverance

"There's always going to be someone out there who doesn't believe in you or who thinks your head is too big or you're not smart enough. But those are the people you need to ignore, and those are the times you need to just keep doing what you love doing." -- Jimmy Fallon

Related: 10 Inspirational Robin Williams Quotes

On opportunity

"Life is like a clam, when it opens, you gotta grab the gooey stuff." -- Jimmy Fallon

On being true to yourself

"I remember when we first started out at Late Night, we were trying to hire directors, and this guy was like, "I see you behind a glass desk.' I don't. And he's like, "Yeah, the glass desk.' I go, "I don't really see me as a glass desk guy.'" -- Jimmy Fallon

On passion

"I just feel like people like a little break... Especially at 12:37 at night, you go like, 'I'm just tired of the snarky right now. I want to lie down and have somebody make me laugh for an hour. Entertain me and then I'm going to sleep with a smile on my face.' That's my job, that's what I do." -- Jimmy Fallon

Rose Leadem is a freelance writer for Entrepreneur.com. 

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