These are some of the most powerful real life stories of courage I have come across.
Not the movie-type. Not the textbook-type.
The kind that make you put your phone down for a second and just think.
I have always been an ardent fan of the word ‘courage’. There is something about being brave that makes you feel ‘wow’. Doesn’t it? A confession — I am a fallible human first & then a motivational speaker. I go on stage every now and then talking of courage to an auditorium full of people. But honestly, I have my own mind-issues about me not feeling courageous at a lot of other places and aspects in my life. But then — this isn’t my story.
This blog is about some exceptional real life stories of courage — courage of all kinds.
I think courage comes in all shapes and sizes.
Men and women coming to terms with their humiliation and violation and talking about the worst experiences of their life, instead of choosing to suffer in silence — that takes a tremendous amount of courage. So, if you are one of those making fun of the #MeToo campaign — don’t. It ain’t cool. Debate — yes. Fun — NO!
People suffering from mental health issues but managing to get out of bed every morning and going about their usual day — living to fight the battle one day at a time — it’s the kind of courage to keep your problem aside and think of the greater good. #Depression takes courage to fight.
Moving beyond your pain to live a life that’s worthy of others, working selflessly instead of just giving up — that’s a special kind of courage.
Having the guts to change the status quo, to keep believing in your own talent or skill or ability to work hard and change destiny — that stubbornness also takes courage. Going against conventional wisdom takes a lot of courage.
Being shit scared to do something but doing it anyway because it is important — that’s another level of courage. The list goes on.
In the end, it all boils down to just one thing — one brave step at a time.
Here are 3 real life inspirational stories of courage — plus 2 bonus stories that I couldn’t leave out. Ordinary men, women, and kids who chose brave. Every single time.
- Story 1 — The courage to choose RIGHT over EASY (Captain Arthur Rostron & the Titanic)
- Story 2 — The courage to PURSUE YOUR DREAM (Harshini Kanhekar, India’s first woman firefighter)
- Story 3 — The courage to CHANGE THE STATUS QUO (Romelu Lukaku)
- Bonus Story 1 — The courage to SPEAK When They Want You Silent (Malala Yousafzai)
- Bonus Story 2 — The courage to BE LAUGHED AT (Arunachalam Muruganantham, the Pad Man of India)
Real Life Story of Courage #1 — The Courage to Choose RIGHT Over EASY
Yes. When saving even one life matters, imagine having saved hundreds of lives just because you had the courage to do the right instead of the easy.
This is the story of a ship in the middle of a shipwreck and a lifeboat that reached in time.
There were three ships around this sinking ship when the distress signal was being sent. The first one, Sampson, was approx. 7 miles away from the sinking ship. Only 7 miles! They could see the sinking ship! But they turned their backs. Why? Because the crew aboard had been involved in illegal hunting of seals. They turned their backs to a shipwreck because they didn’t want to get caught.
Sometimes, courage is not about insane bravery. It’s just simply about having the guts to let go of what’s important to you because someone else is in dire need. Obviously, the crew of Sampson did not possess this royal quality.
There was another ship approx. 14 miles away from our sinking ship. The Californian saw the distress signals — it was within eyeshot — but they were surrounded by ice and it was night time. It wasn’t comfortable for them to move. They decided to wait till morning for conditions to improve. You know that ’20 seconds of insane courage’ we often talk about? When it is about someone else’s life, those 20 seconds become even more important.
The third ship was approx. 58 miles away and was already moving in the other direction. But when they heard the cries over radio, they decided to be the lifeboat. The captain just prayed to God for direction and turned his boat. They waded ice fields in the dark but kept going.
This lifeboat was Carpathia. And the shipwreck it sailed to was none other than the Titanic. They saved a whopping 705 lives that night. Those 705 lives were saved because one man chose the right over the easy — one man had the courage to look beyond his own comfort.
And the man deserves to be acknowledged. He is Captain Arthur Rostron, the man who simply said, “Mr Dean. Turn the ship around.”
HMS Carpathia captain Arthur Rostron (Image courtesy: news.com.au)
Sometimes, that’s how supreme courage looks. Again, I have done no justice to the original story. Read the full story of how one brave man changed 705 lives.
(Some Kickass Motivational Stories to shake you up!)
Real Life Story of Courage #2 — The Courage to PURSUE YOUR DREAM
Courage doesn’t always have to be exhibited through the extreme. Sometimes it’s in the everyday mundane choices we make.
And what do you do when the choice you have to make is — to play with fire every day?
That’s the story of Harshini Kanhekar, the first woman firefighter of India. An incredible story too. All Harshini wanted was to adorn a uniform. From NCC to preparing for armed forces — a job with a uniform was all that she dreamed of.
Harshini was the first woman to apply to a fire engineering course at the National Fire Service College in Nagpur — a one-of-a-kind college in South East Asia, run by the Home Ministry. Her first hurdle? Her family. It’s not a job women take up conventionally.
Harshini Kanhekar, the first woman firefighter of India (Image courtesy: Odisha Shines)
Being the only woman in college, she faced a lot of infrastructural issues — but she remained put. No hostel for females. Difficult commute. Hectic life. But those are nothing in comparison to the expectations people had. As she became the torchbearer for women in this field, the weight of heavy water hoses, suction hoses, mock drill dummies — which were heavy for everyone — became heavier for her in a society that’s always ready to mock a woman doing something new.
But she sailed through all of it.
Harshini Kanhekar’s story of courage is about doing something no one has done before. About swimming against the tides and against the odds. It’s about having the courage to have absolute faith in your dream — so much that the word ‘can’t’ stops reaching your ears at all.
(Image courtesy: Athena Coaching)
Real Life Story of Courage #3 — The Courage to CHANGE THE STATUS QUO
I knew we were struggling. But when she was mixing in water with the milk, I realized it was over, you know what I mean? This was our life.
This is Romelu Lukaku’s statement about his childhood days. For those who don’t know, Romelu Lukaku is a Belgian footballer who plays striker for the Belgian national team and English clubs. I wouldn’t be doing justice to his brilliant track record by attempting to write it. Read more about him here.
(Image courtesy: FIFA)
This is about his journey of becoming who he is today, from where he was when that statement was the reality of his life. Romelu was born in Antwerp, Belgium to Congolese parents. Despite his father being a professional footballer too, the money was gone and they were as broke as they could be — his mother often mixing water in milk cans for survival.
What amazes me about Romelu’s story is that even as a 6-year-old kid, he had the courage to believe in himself — to believe that he can and he will change his status quo. He didn’t crib about empty stomachs or unfulfilled dreams. He silently worked on himself. On his strong conviction that he was going to beat this poverty out of the park and into the goalpost someday.
Courage is an everyday choice. Romelu made that choice every day. He says,
“Let me tell you something — every game I ever played was a Final. When I played in the park, it was a Final. When I played during break in kindergarten, it was a Final. I’m dead-ass serious. I used to try to tear the cover off the ball every time I shot it. Full power. We weren’t hitting R1, bro. No finesse shot. I didn’t have the new FIFA. I didn’t have a Playstation. I wasn’t playing around. I was trying to kill you.”
In an age when kids are busy just growing up, he had the courage to set himself a mission — to become the BEST football player in Belgian history. Too ludicrous? Not too bad for a 12-year-old. His mission got him 76 goals in 34 matches by the time he turned a dozen years old.
Romelu’s goal was to play in the national team by the time he was 16. He was only 11 days late. His mission had finally started to see daylight. He literally worked his ass off to make good on the silent promise a 6-year-old made to his mom — standing in front of the refrigerator, filling the milk bottle with water because they were broke.
This courage to not give up — it takes insane effort. It is easy to give up because that’s the momentum, that’s your current state. But you won’t probably lose much more — and will gain everything — by deciding not to give up just one more day. By deciding to play every match like it’s your world cup final.
(Read: 3 Successful athlete stories of perseverance)
Bonus Story 1 — The Courage to SPEAK When They Want You Silent
She was shot in the head on a school bus.
She was 15.
She went back to school.
That is Malala Yousafzai — the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate in history and one of the most famous real life stories of courage the world has ever seen. Malala’s story begins in Swat Valley, Pakistan — a place where the Taliban had banned girls from going to school. Malala was 11 years old when she started anonymously writing a blog for the BBC about life under Taliban rule. About the fear of going to school. About not wanting to stop learning.
They found out who she was. In 2012, a gunman boarded her school bus and shot her.
She survived. She spoke louder.
What strikes me about Malala is not the bravery of surviving a bullet — though that itself is incomprehensible. It’s the bravery she showed before the bullet. The bravery of an 11-year-old who looked at an entire extremist regime and decided — you will not shut me up.
Most of us can’t find the courage to speak up in a meeting room.
She spoke up against men with guns.
Her words after recovering from surgery say it all — “They thought that bullets would silence us. But they failed. Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.”
One brave girl. One pen. One voice. And eventually — the world listened.
Bonus Story 2 — The Courage to BE LAUGHED AT
Imagine spending your entire savings — and then your wife’s jewellery — on an idea that everyone around you thinks is insane.
Your wife leaves you. Your mother leaves you. Your village thinks you’ve lost your mind.
You keep going.
That is Arunachalam Muruganantham — a school dropout from Coimbatore who invented a low-cost sanitary pad making machine and changed menstrual health for millions of women across rural India. You may know him from the Bollywood film Pad Man. His real story is even more extraordinary than the film.
Muruganantham started this journey simply because he noticed his wife using a dirty rag during her period. He wanted to make something better for her. What followed was 18 months of obsessive, laughed-at, ridiculed research. He wore a bladder of pig’s blood to test his pads. His village called him a pervert. His family thought he had gone mad.
He had not gone mad. He had gone brave.
Today, his machines are used across 1,300 villages in 23 states. He turned down a multi-crore licensing offer from a multinational and chose instead to distribute the machines at cost to rural women’s self-help groups.
He could have been a millionaire. He chose to be something rarer.
As someone who has spent years thinking about what it means to truly succeed — Muruganantham’s story hits differently. It’s not just about courage to pursue a dream. It’s about the courage to be completely, publicly, repeatedly wrong — and still not stop.
That’s a rare kind of brave.
(Image courtesy: Peak Performance MMA)
These are just three core stories — plus two bonus ones — of the many inspiring stories of brave men, women, and kids that I have come across. It’s their doggedness that gets them through the invisible finish line of life — through all odds.
What’s the ingredient for this insanity, this ability to not give up?
It’s not rocket science. Nor does one need the bravery of a soldier. Being courageous mostly includes making that choice every day — that something else is more important than your fear.
That’s about it. Nothing else.
Hope you find it in you to always do the RIGHT thing!
P.S. — Do share your courage stories. Would love to hear from you about your real life heroes.
P.P.S. — Dedicating this post to all the brave soldiers of the Indian military who choose to put their own selves on the line of fire every day. Their courage is beyond words.
Lots of love,
Akash Gautam
Frequently Asked Questions — Real Life Stories of Courage
What is the best real life story of courage?
Depends on what kind of courage moves you. For moral courage — Captain Arthur Rostron turning the Carpathia toward the Titanic in the dark. For the courage to dream — Harshini Kanhekar becoming India’s first woman firefighter. For the courage to keep going when everything is against you — Romelu Lukaku going from a milk-mixed-with-water childhood to international football. For the courage to speak — Malala. Every one of these is real. Every one happened.
What is a short story on courage?
Captain Arthur Rostron was 58 miles away from the Titanic, moving in the wrong direction. When he heard the distress call, he turned his ship around, waded ice fields in the dark, and saved 705 lives. He didn’t debate it. He didn’t wait. He just said — “Turn the ship around.” That’s a short story on courage.
What are some famous stories of courage?
Malala Yousafzai speaking out for girls’ education under Taliban rule and surviving an assassination attempt. Nick Vujicic — born with no arms and legs — becoming one of the world’s most inspiring motivational speakers. Arunachalam Muruganantham spending his savings, losing his family, and being mocked by his village — to build a machine that gave millions of rural women access to sanitary pads. These are famous stories of courage because they actually happened.
What is a real life example of bravery?
Harshini Kanhekar walking into the National Fire Service College in Nagpur as the only woman — no hostel, no precedent, no comfort zone — and coming out as India’s first woman firefighter. Nobody needed her to do it. She just decided she would. That is real life bravery.
How do you show courage in everyday life?
Courage in everyday life isn’t always dramatic. It looks like getting out of bed on the hardest days. Speaking the truth in a room full of people who disagree. Choosing to do the right thing when the easy thing is right in front of you. Showing up for someone else when you’re barely holding it together yourself. One brave step at a time. That’s the whole game.
What is the meaning of courage with a real life example?
Courage is doing the thing that matters most — even when you’re afraid. Romelu Lukaku as a 6-year-old, watching his mother mix water into milk, making a silent promise to himself that he would change this. He had every reason to lose hope. He had none of the resources. But he made that choice — every single day — to believe that things would change if he worked hard enough. That’s courage. Quiet, daily, relentless courage.
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