Even the most laidback ones among us can motivate themselves by understanding the heartache, passion, commitment and perseverance that scripted the real-life success stories of people such as Thomas Edison and well, for aspiring writers like me, Stephen King!
Here is a short collection of motivational stories from real life that touched me to keep going when faced with never-ending obstacles. After all, what’s better than knowing that you are not alone?
You may have heard some of these stories before or they may be new to you, but go ahead, read them and get inspired. Share these with someone you think is in urgent need of a push forward. You never know, you may just motivate someone to change their lives and reach for their true destiny.
Motivational Story 1 — Michael Jordan
“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” ~ Michael Jordan.
How can I talk about motivation and not mention Michael Jordan? Jordan suffered his first set-back in his sophomore year when he was left out of the varsity basketball team. Reason? He was only 5’9” at that time. His taller classmate Leroy Smith had won the last spot on the team.
He made up his mind that he would never have to face a similar situation ever again and started practicing every day after that, making it a point to take out time for his practice daily without fail. He soon shot up to 6’3”, made the team the next year and never had to look back after that.
From being a part of two gold-medal winning teams at the Olympics to winning NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award five times in his career, Jordan dominated the sports field for more than a decade in the ‘90s.
Motivational Story 2 — Lance Armstrong
Diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer at the age of 25, doctors gave Lance Armstrong less than a 40 percent chance of recovery. Tumors were discovered in his lungs and stomach along with multiple lesions on the brain.
His biking career was over or so everyone thought; but no one counted on the indomitable belief Armstrong had in himself and the lessons which his mother, Linda Walling had taught him.
One of the first things that he did was to acknowledge the disease that had captured him in its talons and learn everything he could about it. He devoured books, resources and found help in support groups with people going through similar difficulties.
Lance sought strength in three things his mother had instilled in him
“Make every obstacle an opportunity”, “Always work hard and good things will happen” and “Don’t believe it when other people say you can’t”.
His first comeback after beating cancer was not a success and he finished fourteenth in the race. He even thought about retirement but constant support from his fiancée, mother and buddy Chris Carmichael soon had him training for his next race in the Appalachians.
He returned from his training a transformed man and never let the constant difficulties plough him down again.
True, the doping scandals have destroyed Lance’s reputation as a professional biker. But one cannot but admire his sheer will power and dedication through which he turned the odds in his favor at a time when everyone thought his life was over.
Motivational Story 3 — J.K. Rowling
From living as a single mother on state benefits to a multi-millionaire today, J.K. Rowling has come a long way from her early days of struggle and is a true epitome of the ‘rags to riches’ story.
Many a times, Rowling has attributed her considerable achievements to her ability to focus all her attention on the things that mattered to her the most.
The success of Harry Potter series is a tribute to her story-telling abilities and a reminder that everyone has a hidden talent within him or her. You just have to reach out for it and allow it to bloom.
~~
Motivational Stories from Every Day
These are but a few motivational stories about people who have had to face difficulties in one form or the other, and turned it around through sheer perseverance and enthusiasm.
But if you come to think about it, even your milkman or the security guard in your office building might have an inspiring story to tell you out of their own lives.
I know a lady who is well into her seventies now. A housewife who had never worked before, she lost her husband at the age of 40 to illness and was left with a 10-year old son and huge medical bills.
She took on her husband’s job without thinking twice, applied herself to learning new skills and brought up her son single-handedly. She is still active today, leads the neighborhood book club and has signed up for a computer class to keep up with the changing times.
If that is not motivational enough then I don’t know what is!
Do you have any motivational stories to share with us? Let us know in the comments below!
Image by aloshbennett.
at 8:32 am
The thoughts are distinctive and therefore the web site is superb. I really like dedication to the welfare of humanity. This web site is totally designed to support those who have lost their hope of life and success.
at 11:16 pm
Glad to hear that you like our website, Arun! We hope to make a positive difference in many lives through our efforts.
at 10:51 am
I never tire of reading the captivating stories of people whose lives are truly inspirational.
at 1:02 am
I met with an major road accident.Lost 5 years prime time of my business career,but this has not deterred me from sharing my experience in all form of Stress.I take classes on Stress Management,Emotional Intelligence from school level.
at 8:39 pm
Rly good inspire from u r life story sir ,u r great
at 10:47 am
These are really inspiring stories.True motivation for us .Teaches us not to stop until you achieve you goal .Thanks a lot for such a great article
at 7:18 pm
Glad you enjoyed Somya. Now go, time to apply the lessons! 🙂
at 10:36 am
hey pooja,,,cn u plz help me out everytym i read such stories i get motivated but dere always dat some mini me in my mind dat keepin giving me negative thoughts….dnt knw how to over come dis ….n to focus on my target….
at 4:49 am
Hey Pooja..
If u keep on thinking about ur Negative thoughts then how would u be able to overcome from that….U dnt need any motivation story to motivate u,Find a reason with in ur self and get motivated towards ur dreams.
at 4:46 am
What about the life story of Sylvester Stallone
………………………..
Here it goes
From nobody to Super Duper Star
This is one of the MOST MOTIVATIONAL life stories I have come across.
Sylvestar Stallone is one the most famous American Movie stars.. With characters like Rocky and Rambo he is a household name in the hearts of millions.
During birth, a wrong gynecological procedure caused Stallone to have one sided paralysis.
At school, his middle class being and his facial paralysis became a think for others to make fun off.
He joined body-building because he wanted to frighten those who bullied him.
Slowly he started thinking of a career in movies.
While struggling to get a role, he even started in a soft-core porn movie.
Around 1974, he had a pregnant wife, a dog that he loved a lot, a lot of bills to pay and no success in his movie career.
What he still had was a belief in his dream that he will make it big.
Soon a time came when he went broke. He was heavily under debt. Restless, anxious, stressed and still loaded with hope that he will make it big.
Things got so bad that he had sell his wife’s jewelry and ended homeless. Sleeping at the New York Bus station for 3 days.
The cold American winter forced him to choose between electricity and his dog. He stood outside a local store and sold his dog for $25.
Two weeks later, on TV he watched a boxing match between Mohammed Ali and Chuck Wepner. That match was like a flash of divine inspiration… For the next 20 hours he sat and wrote the script of what today is a cult movie, ROCKY.
In the words of stallone himself, “After nearly 1500 rejections”, he got a production house to offer $125,000 for the script.
Despite the poverty, pains, pregnant wife and lost dog… His dream was to STAR in the movie has the MAIN LEAD.
In an era when hero’s were common man and spoke fluently, a body builder with a facial paralysis that made him stammer while speaking.. Made Stallone the wrong choice for any role.
The studio Bluntly rejected his offer… And Stallone went back home with another failure.
A few weeks later,the studio offered him $250,000 for the just the script, and not him.
He refused.
Soon they offered $350,000 for the script but not him.
At that time everyone was pushing him to accept.. It would be MAD not to do so.. He was making a fortune. He still refused.
Someone in the studio really loved his script, and as fortune favors the brave.. They finally accepted to $35,000 for the script and him as the lead star.
The rest as they say is history!
The movie was made for $1 million and went to make around $200 million.
It won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Film Editing.
Stallone was a “bankable” hero for the next 20yrs, till the late 90’s… with his movies having made billions of dollars.
And what did he do with the first $35,000?
He stood outside the liquor store were he sold his dog for 3 days. Identified the man who had bought it, and finally got him back for $15,000.
MORAL –
NEVER LET THE HOPE GO AWAY. NEVER STOP DREAMING.
KNOW WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OFF…
DON’T DREAM SOMETHING THAT’S ABSURD.. HAVE A REALISTIC DREAM BASED ON WHAT YOU CAN DO.
MAKE SURE ITS A VALID DREAM… AND THEN BELIEVE IN THE DREAM.
LOVE THE DREAM.
LOVE YOURSELF FOR THE DREAM.
TIMES WILL BE BAD.. REALLY BAD…
YOU MIGHT BE WITHOUT A JOB.
YOU MIGHT BE LIVING ON CREDIT CARDS.
YOUR RELATIONSHIPS MIGHT BE DESTROYED.
YOUR LOVED ONES MIGHT WALK AWAY FORM YOUR LIFE.
PEOPLE WILL MAKE FUN OF YOU.
YOU CAN GET EVERYTHING BACK… JOB, FAMILY, FRIENDS, RESPECT.. BUT BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND YOUR CAPACITIES.
AND IN THE WORDS OF ROCKY BALBOA –
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
― Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa
at 5:44 am
Wonderful…. We can be our hero, if we wish.
at 9:27 pm
It inspired me more
at 5:18 am
that great of you to share ..
at 5:36 am
Best motivational story i ever heard…
at 7:40 am
Thank you Aastha for sharing this story.It has really given me a lot of potential to work on my goals.
at 10:21 am
so good site keep it up
at 6:42 am
nice…i get the courge when read inspirational stories. and ur contribution is admirable. thanks
at 1:02 pm
its a very nice experience to read such inspirational stories
I just thank u from bottom of my heart
because even I had loosen the strength n hope of living life
n all I need is u presented
thanks again
and post something touchy
and something about great success after a lot of struggle in detail that how their life was gone worst but still they survive
please post
and mail me if possible
at 3:27 am
My life now is changed due to the above motivational stories
at 2:50 am
I found the story of this srilankan cricketer, Marvan Attappattu more inspiring and motivating. He is a true example for being persistent
http://motivationthoughtsforlife.blogspot.in/2013/11/never-give-up-never-never-give-up.html
at 11:09 pm
Sister Amritha,
I salute you for your great collection of motivational stories…
Really appreciated and useful for stories to build the self confidence.
Thanks to you and to Aastha Tiwari..
at 3:07 am
Thank you for such a great story!
at 8:40 am
It’s really a great motivational real stories. thanks amritha.
at 10:11 pm
so inspiring…..
at 9:12 am
great inspiring stories thank you so much amrita
at 6:42 am
The story which is help you to reach your goal & destination. Its work like fuel when you are became idle or dull .
Thanks a lots
at 2:41 am
Astha Tiwari: Thanks for sharing the story of Sylvester Stallone. This is the first time I’ve read about him. To overcome 1500 rejections is a great thing. One should have lot of faith to do so.
at 10:55 pm
I got a inspired mind to get my destination after the reading yours motivated stories….
I expect you can build someone’s life as beautiful through these best stories…. Thanks for your good attemt…..
at 3:44 am
These are really inspiring, it inspires students like us to decide our goals and act smartlly.
at 8:55 am
I am totally enlightened.
These stories have touched my current happenings in my life,
at 10:11 am
These stories are really heart touching.We always think that we have so much problems but forget to notice those who are facing much hardships than us.
I also have a story to share.
In my neighborhood there is family, who are now stable and richer. they are a family of 5, mother,father and three children.Earlier also they were rich having a huge stone quarry. later uncle Sam(Father) was cheated by his relatives and business partners and their quarry got shutdown.The family had to face a lot of hardships. how difficult it becomes for a rich person to live a below than average life.they had to sell their house and shift from their city Mumbai to a small city.the three children were very clever and sharp.helped parents in every situation. the mother was a housewife,on coming to new city even she started working to support her family.she became a teacher.and father started a small shop of stationary.They compromised with their rich lifestyle but they gave a quality education to their children. The elder daughter and younger daughter became computer engineers and are now working in giant IT companies taking huge pay and the youngest son is now about to become a mechanical engineer.The people who know their story praise their parents for giving them such brilliant upbringing even though they faced many hardships.It is now a happy and caring family.The parents are satisfied that they have secured the life of their children and children are happy because after facing lots of ups and downs , their parents are happy.
Nothing is life is constant especially when it is sorrow, we have to keep struggling and creating our way carving the difficulties aside and once happiness comes in, we should become smart and try our best to preserve and spread it.
at 4:03 am
Awesome stories..thank you so much for these stories…
at 6:28 am
thank you soo much for posting such a wonderful ,motivational stories,i am using all these stories in trainings… Silvester Stallone life story is really inspiring….
at 1:23 pm
Hi,
I got a lot from these stories and i stopped fighting with my life long time back but since i started reading these wonderful stories i found that success only comes with hard work you can make dreams on you are bed while your are sleeping you need to fight to complete those dreams then you can make it success
.
Thanks ,
You guyes are great people .
All the the best .
***********************
at 11:15 pm
What he still had was a belief in his dream that he will make it big.
at 10:35 am
i realy appreciate ur work by heart, the real happiness may be u will get by help of hopeless person… If his/her lives change by ur motivational story it will b great achievement
at 2:16 am
Truly motivating!! Fantastic collection of stories..
at 12:14 pm
Really Motivating..
Hatsoff Rocky
at 1:09 am
Great Stories. I will feature one of them in great detail in my website 🙂
at 11:37 am
these motivative stories were really useful to when i was depress and its my pleasure to thank you……
at 3:38 am
very motivational. as they says “To double your success rate, double your failure”
at 9:45 am
Best inspirational stories ever read.
at 11:17 am
Great stories…must salute such ppl for their hardwork which was followed by success and satisfaction ….I really get to learn more from these stories….the saying is proved here……success comes to those who work hard with belief in themselves…
at 1:57 am
We really like: “Don’t believe it when other people say you can’t”. Motivation always works as a key to success in life.
at 1:19 am
The Power of Words and a Little Bit of My Story
My Mother never loved me. I was the ugly duckling. My mother would call me such hurtful names. She would call me “fat fu-ck”. She had told me “you should of been born dead”. I had 2 beautiful thin sisters. I was verbally abused by my mother. I now have children of my own, and for those who are afraid to have children because they think they will hurt their own children as their moms have hurt them…don’t be afraid. My mother hurt me so deeply that I would NEVER want to cause anyone that same pain, let alone my own children. People say that I broke the cycle of abuse. I now look back at my childhood and realize something terribly was wrong in my mothers life to have treated me that way and I feel so sorry for. I wonder what her childhood was like and where she learned this from. I was robbed of my self-esteem and self-worth. I was afraid of people and kept to myself. When I was teased at school for being overweight, it was just to me a validation of the things my mom was telling me at home. I spent over 20 years of my adult life in counseling. I had always believed that I was a flawed individual. I never thought I would ever be able to love myself. No one should ever have the power to dictate someone else’s self-esteem/worth. SELF-esteem is just that. It is not called mom-esteem. It is too bad that mom has never see past my outwardly appearance to ever even know the amazing person I am on the inside. I am not sure that she would even be able to guess that I am the amazing person I am today because of the love and acceptance she did not have for me. I am a more compassionate, kind, and loving person because of the abuse I endured. I am still an overweight person as I was as a child, but I love myself more today, as I am, than every before. I had lost 80 pounds and went to the extreme of having had weight loss surgery because I wanted to please my mom. She never once told me anything when I lost the weight. I have come to terms with my childhood, and have moved on to please myself and give myself the love I never had as a child. I have learned to not expect anything from my mom. Without hoping one day she will change, and maybe say I love you etc,, I am protecting myself from further hurt and pain. To all those that have been abused in any type of abusive situation, TURN THAT PAIN INTO POWER to love yourself and to be someone who can offer hope, love, and help to others. Words are so amazingly powerful. My mother taught me how bad words could wound someone so deeply …and it made me think…in the complete opposite direction. If words can be that powerful, and I instilled positive words into my life, could the positive words have the same amount of power? And the answer to that is YES!! I wish everyone peace, love, and kindness. I hope my mother can one day fully love herself and realize that happiness lies within our selves. Loving yourself is the most amazing gift to yourself, but also to others. And my favorite quote: “Kindness Matters”.
at 2:41 pm
thanks a lot for posting such a wonderful story of ur life .it requires guts …best luck for ur life
at 1:59 pm
Great stories! Just reading those quotes give a “burst” of motivation. I’m going to write them down so I can come back to them when I need a “pick up.”
at 12:05 pm
i am quoting a poem which i suggest we should repeat to ourselves when faced with bitterness in any form…………..
i return the bitterness
which you gave to me
when i wanted loveliness
taintless and free
i return the bitterness
it is washed by tears
now it is loveliness
garnished through the years
i return the loveliness
having made it so
for i wore the bitterness
from it long ago
at 7:39 am
Very inspiring site…
Thanks to all..
Make it up…
Its really really helpful..
at 10:36 am
WHEN YOU CHANG YOUR THINKING ,
You change your belief;
When you change your beliefs,
You change your expectations;
When you change your expectations;
You change your attitude;
When you change your attitude,
You change your behaviour;
When you change your behaviour,
You change your performance;
When you change your performance,
YOU CHANGE YOUR LIFE !
at 10:46 am
please help me!!! i need motivation to achieve my goal. i cant concentrate on my study due to a lot of tensions………….. so please help me get rid out of this!!
at 5:09 pm
I believe motivation lies inside a person. If you are strong and do not care what people say then you are bound to succeed. All these great people were self motivated, though there circumstances pushed them ahead and they acheived higher in life compared to that of other people.
at 12:46 pm
really motivating.ood
at 7:37 pm
superb!!!i liked it soo much plz keep updating it with new stories
at 11:17 pm
Really Inspiring
at 4:16 am
I read all the stories and felt myself charged ! . Thanks for collecting and posting such motivational and true stories .. !! keep up the good work.
at 1:22 pm
Guys, Wanna tell you my story.. I am from poor family with farm background. Before i could born court decided to separate my mother and father due to rude behavior of my father when i was 8 months baby inside her womb(My mother just escaped from death by a whisker). Once they were separated she was living with her father and working day and night just to feed us. I started studying in government schools and we all know it is in local language and quality of education isn’t so great that i haven’t seen many coming out of such schools. I cleared my 10th standard with 88% and joined my college, again government college and the problem was there most of the education was in English and adjusting to change in language wasn’t so easy . Still i cleared +2 with 88%. I was eligible for both medicine and Engineering but had to give up medicine because of low funds. Today i am engineer and mother doesn’t have work hard in fields.It was very hard to see her toil in the fields and come back and some times sleep with out food and i dunno how much i cried every day whenever i looked at her struggling in the fields. I was determined . I wanted to change her life. Today it gives me lots of happiness to say she doesn’t have to work so hard any more and she can happily eat whenever she wants. I don’t care how much money i earn but this is what i wanted to see and i am very happy person on this earth.
There were so many things which really bothered us. Court cases, people, society. I was determined to change our lives.
at 5:55 am
nice story
at 9:51 pm
Winning Happens in your Mind. Breaking barriers. More motivation.
motivationthoughtsforlife.blogspot.in/2015/02/winning-happens-in-your-mind-story-i.html
at 1:55 pm
I found the stories wonderful… a few I already knew. And about Rocky Balboa, I never saw a movie more times than this one. It has is all… motivation, inspiration and the power to move ahead. A must for every youngster.
And motivational videos and stories are like a game of – Snakes & Ladders; for a while they give you a high and then you’re down once again. But you must keep on… and the best motivation is self-motivation.
Give small doses of it to your own-self daily.
Best Wishes,
Amar Agarwala
at 2:45 am
the people who search for motivation never think that you have lack of motivation.rather think of that you are trying to make out your life and you can.
at 10:43 am
Hey Friends,
My name is Sidharth and I am young boy in thirties :). An IT professional, sportsman and a marathon runner for the last 7 years.
To my surprise and my family and friends shock I was detected with a rare type of cancer in the right kidney one month after I ran full marathon in Mumbai in Jan 2014 and a week later after I played the first cricket match of the internal cricket tournament of my organization at the end of Feb 2014.
On Feb 27 I passed blood in urine which was an alarming situation for me (in medical terms it is called gross hematuria). The initial blood, urine and ultra sound tests conducted by doctors showed everything normal hence no one was sure as to why I was passing blood in the urine; in fact it was only blood and no urine which I was passing. The other thing was worrying the doctors was that I had absolute no pain any where. Once the CT scan was done the radiologist confirmed a large growth inside the kidney which is usually cancerous in nature and called Renal Cell Carcinoma in medical terms. The growth was of the size of a golf ball residing inside my right kidney covering more than half of it.
It was really a tough time for my family since all the doctors were suggesting a major surgery with a possibility of me loosing the right kidney; however the final call of removing the kidney would be taken only on the OT table once the doctors opened me up :). The biggest worry for me was the fear that I saw in my parents and my friends eyes of loosing me. At the end it became a motivating factor for me since I had to stand in front of them and give them an assurance that it was not a dead end and I will be fit and fine soon. After lots of preliminary tests conducted by various doctors; I was finally declared fit for the surgery.
Finally the day came when the surgery was performed and as expected the right kidney could not be saved by the surgeons and the kidney along with the ureter, lymph node, 3 arteries, 4 veins and some peripheral tissue also had to be removed. I had excessive bleeding during the surgery and had to be given with more than 2 bottles of blood. Obviously this increased the heart beat of my parents and all my well wishers waiting outside desperately to hear the news that all is well. Eventually I came out with a successful surgery.
I still have a long road ahead since there are tests to be conducted and I need to be monitored for the next 5 years closely to ensure that the cancer has not spread to other parts of my body (in medical terms called metastasis). This requires CT scans of Chest, Bone and Liver which needs to be done on a frequency of 3 months for the next 5 years. A negative result may change the course of the treatment further but I am hopeful that everything will be fine.
It was even after one month of surgery that I was so less in energy that I needed rest even after climbing down 2 stairs. I really had to push myself hard even to stand on my feet for 10 minutes. That time I realized that this was taking away my mental as well as physical strength and it was time that I need to back myself and slowly start walking and regain the confidence. I was terrified with the fact that 2 months ago I was running full marathon and today its difficult to even stand for 10 minutes. I finally held myself together and now after another 3 weeks I am able to stand and walk although getting the same stamina will take its own time but the key is not to give up at any stage.
I went back to running and completed the half marathon in Nov 2014; 8 months after the surgery and then went to Mumbai to complete another full marathon in Jan 2015. The next landmark was when I hit the cricket pitch at the end of January (333 days after the surgery) to play my first corporate tournament post the surgery. I cannot forget the welcome my team gave me when I joined them and needless to say I did not disappoint my team and scored runs when my team needed the most. The feeling was so good that its really difficult to put them in words.
The purpose of sharing this story is that I found lots of cancer patients in the hospital who require help in terms of counseling. Such a disease takes a lot from you not only physically and mentally but emotionally as well. The word cancer itself is so scary that people tend to loose the battle even before it starts. I really consider myself lucky that first God gave me a warning since the bleeding happened only for 2 days and then stopped itself and secondly I had a very supportive family and friends. Needless to say my willpower when added to all this lets me become a strong person but not everybody is as lucky as me. I would like to contribute as much as I can and may be able to change someone’s attitude towards life.
I am planning to start counseling sessions both online and in hospitals and motivate them; I strongly believe If I can do it why cant they!! Please feel free to call me or blog me and I promise I will try and help anybody and everybody I can to help fight it!!
at 12:03 am
Thank you for this wonderful stories. JK rowlin even donated half of her money to charity because she knows how it feel to have nothing.I too have a inspirational story about mothers fight with OCD disease which is very inspirational for us all .THE MONSTER WITHIN-A REAL LIFE STORY ABOUT OCD DISEASE .Hope you will take inspiration and lesson from this story too.
at 8:04 pm
very good
at 11:52 pm
Nothing is impossible in the life. Great motivational stories. Keep motivating .Check out my small hindi motivational blog http://www.happyhindi.com
at 9:06 am
It will take time;effort;blood;sweat;tears….but I will get there.
at 8:15 am
Great experiences! watch the PPT of P Mohamed ali here on authostream, it is inspiring to know the great extent of work a single man can do: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/james149768-2480702-dr-mohamed-ali-vision-his-company-galfar-ltd/
at 1:38 pm
keep it up..you are doing a great job by inspiring others