The following speech was given by my friend friend His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, in the days and weeks following the worst terror attack on the people of Norway in at least my generation. I am sure it will inspire you, as it has already inspired me. Full text, shared as follows.

His Royal Highness The Crown Prince
Appeal at City Hall Square 25 July 2011
Tonight the streets are filled with love.
We have chosen to defy brutality with fellowship.
We have chosen to counter hatred with solidarity.
We have chosen to make it plain what we stand for.
Norway is a nation in mourning. Our thoughts go to all those who have suffered loss, who are grieving.
To all who have worked so heroically to save lives and re-establish our security. And to our leaders, who have been so put to the test these past days.
The acts of terror may have targeted the people on Utøya and in the government buildings, but it has affected us all.
With terrible clarity they have shown us how enormous the consequences of one person’s actions can be.
And at the same time they demonstrate that each individual’s attitudes count, that it matters what we choose base our lives on. And how we choose to use this to benefit each other and the society in which we live.
After July 22nd we can never again allow ourselves to think that our opinions and beliefs don’t matter. We must go into every day ready to do battle for the free and open society which we hold so dear.
To our young people: You are our corrective, our courage and our hope. It is you who will shape and determine Norway’s course in years to come. We have none of you to spare. Yet we have lost so many.
No one will take from us the Norway that we want.
Tonight the streets are filled with love.
We have a choice to make. We cannot undo what has been done.
But we can choose what we let it do to us, as a society and as individuals.
We can decide that no one should ever have to stand alone.
We can choose to stand together.
It is up to each of us now. It is up to you and it is up to me.
We have a job to do together. It is a job we have to do around the dinner table, in lunchrooms, in our clubs and organisations, a job for all men and women, in all our cities, villages and towns.
We want a Norway:
Where we can live together as a community, at liberty to think freely and express our views.
Where differences are perceived as potential.
Where freedom is stronger than fear.
Tonight the streets are filled with love.
Note from John Hope Bryant:
HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway is a co-founder of Global Dignity, along with our friend and fellow former YGL, Professor Pekka Himanen and myself. As a result of our deep friendship and the work we do around the world, we spend a lot of time in Norway. Norway, is family, to us all.
Saluting An American Icon: Farewell Steve Jobs, You Will Be Missed
And so, a book is closed, and an era in many ways defines by the imagination of one Steve Jobs comes to an end today, with the stunning announcement of his death.
That said, because of what he built, who he empowered, where he applied his transformative powers, and how he changed the way we worked and lived (and even felt), his legacy will live on forever.
We had no idea of course, when we asked the question in our forthcoming announcement of the Gallup-HOPE Index, "which one of these young people will be the next Steve Jobs," that we would be doing so in the backdrop of his literal passing -- but what a fitting tribute to a man who changed so much, and inspired so many -- including me. And so, next week, Gallup and the Operation HOPE family will release national data that will hopefully help insure that there will be hundreds more Steve Jobs of and for our future.
The Operation HOPE family joins me in saluting an American icon, and a global leader for change -- Mr. Steve Jobs. You will be missed sir. Your legacy, lives on, and I am not talking about an iPad. I am talking about our way life, our possibilities, and how we actually "see" our world. Thank you sir. Thank you.
Finally, our hearts go out to his family, and those who obviously loved him so very much. Please know that he has been "promoted." Gone on, to a better place.
Onward and with HOPE
John Hope Bryant
John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), and a Member of the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for President Barack Obama. Mr. Bryant is a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum.
Posted at 08:59 PM in 21st Century Youth Agenda, Bryant Blogging for the People, Bryant Heroes and Sheroes, Bryant in Remembrance, Bryant International Agenda, Bryant on a Vision for the Future, Bryant on Leadership, Bryant Opinion and Commentary, Bryant Testimonial, HOPE-Gallup Index | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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