Justin Timberlake's Teen Choice speech covers generosity, racism, and being nice to your parents

(Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

It doesn't seem that long ago that a curly-haired Justin Timberlake was a teen himself, singing "Bye Bye Bye" while portraying a marionette, but on Sunday, he was the sage adult doling out advice to his young fans.

At the Teen Choice Awards, Timberlake received the first ever Teen Choice Decade Award, presented to him by Kobe Bryant. During his speech, Timberlake shared that he was taught by his parents to show respect to "all people on the basis of their character, not where they live, not what they did for a living, or the color of their skin." He reminded the audience that they will make mistakes along the way, "but what we do after the fall is how we make history," and went on to impart three pieces of advice from Muhammad Ali. "He fought in the ring but he fought for peace, too," Timberlake said, adding that his words of wisdom have "helped me and may help you along your journey."

First, don't count the days, make the days count. "You are young, as I once was," he said. "Do not think for a moment that what you do doesn't count. It does, not just to you but to the world and your generation, who will one day inherit this world from old-timers like me and Kobe." Second, service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth. "Be generous, be kind, be fair," Timberlake said. "It's not just the right thing to do, it's the good thing to do." He also shared what he considers the "greatest" quote ever: "Impossible is just a word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact, it's an opinion. Impossible is potential, impossible is temporary, impossible is nothing." After throwing in a quick reminder to everyone to be nice to their parents, Timberlake left the teens with a challenge: "Do the impossible, be the greatest generation yet." Watch the video below. Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.