--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Real courage is when you know you're…" description: "\"Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.\" — Harper Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/harper-lee-451_character_real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-lic_2535404.png" --- # Real courage is when you know you're licked before you… ![“Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/harper-lee-451_character_real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-lic_2535404.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/harper-lee-451_character_real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-lic_2535404.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/harper-lee-451_character_real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-lic_2535404.png) > “Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True courage is persisting despite knowing defeat is likely, and seeing the effort through. **In simple terms:** Courage persists even when odds are against you. Key Takeaway Persevere despite expected failure. Themes courage resilience determination adversity integrity Mood determined inspirational serious Type literary motivational When to use this quote - activism - personal challenges - leadership decisions - long‑term projects Key Concepts ethical fortitude psychology of perseverance heroic action Questions to Reflect On - When is it wise to quit? - How do you measure success in futile attempts? A Different Perspective Success isn’t guaranteed; effort may be futile. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Moral courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-courage/) [Perseverance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perseverance/) [Real courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-courage/) [Tenacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenacity/) ## Related quotes > [“Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-licked-before-you-begin-but-you-begin/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/it-s-when-you-know-you-re-licked-before-you-begin-but-you-begin-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/it-s-when-you-know-you-re-licked-before-you-begin-but-you-begin/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“(Courage is) when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-licked-before-you-begin-but-you-begin-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real-courage-is-instead-of-getting-the-idea/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Do studies, not pictures. Know when you are licked - start another. Be alive, stop when your interest is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-webster-hawthorne/do-studies-not-pictures-know-when-you-are-licked-start-another-be/) [Charles Webster Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-webster-hawthorne/) > [“I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/wanted-you-to-see-what-real-courage-is-instead-of-getting-the-idea/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real-courage-is-instead-of-getting-the-idea-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Cat got your tongue? And what a lovely tongue it is. I know. It licked every inch of me. Repeatedly. For months," He purred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/cat-got-your-tongue-and-what-a-lovely-tongue-it-is-i-know-it-licked/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“…I wanted you to see something about her-- I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real-3/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Success takes the courage to know who you really are and be comfortable with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-gumbel/success-takes-the-courage-to-know-who-you-really-are-and-be/) [Bryant Gumbel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-gumbel/) > [That's what courage is you know: being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/that-s-what-courage-is-you-know-being-afraid-and-doing-what-you-have/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) > [“We cannot change our destiny, we just have to have the courage to know what it is, and accept it." - Cinderpelt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter/we-cannot-change-our-destiny-we-just-have-to-have-the-courage-to-know/) [Erin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hunter/) ## More by Harper Lee > [“No jury in this part of the world's going to say, "We think you're guilty, but not very," on a charge like that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/no-jury-in-this-part-of-the-world-s-going-to-say-we-think-you-re/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [That proves something- that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/that-proves-something-that-a-gang-of-wild-animals-can-be-stopped/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/folks-don-t-like-to-have-somebody-around-knowin-more-than-they-do-it/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [ “...\[Summer\] was a thousand colors in a parched landscape...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/summer-was-a-thousand-colors-in-a-parched-landscape/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [It’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/it-s-never-an-insult-to-be-called-what-somebody-thinks-is-a-bad-name/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I wonder how much of the day I spend just callin' after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wonder-how-much-of-the-day-i-spend-just-callin-after-you/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Writing is something you'll never learn in any university or at any school. It's something that is within you, and if it isn't there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/writing-is-something-you-ll-never-learn-in-any-university-or-at-any/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-have-come-to-trial-the-state-has/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Naw, Jem. I think that there is just one kind of folks. Folks." Jen turned and punched his pillow. WHen he settle back his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/naw-jem-i-think-that-there-is-just-one-kind-of-folks-folks-jen-turned/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The course of English Literature would have been decidedly different had Mr. Wordsworth owned a power mower.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-course-of-english-literature-would-have-been-decidedly-different/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I would like to be the chronicler of something that I think is going down the drain very swiftly, and that is small-town, middle-class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-would-like-to-be-the-chronicler-of-something-that-i-think-is-going/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The gum looked fresh. I sniffed it and it smelled all right. I licked it and waited for a while. When I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-gum-looked-fresh-i-sniffed-it-and-it-smelled-all-right-i-licked/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I just thought you'd like to know I can read. You got anything needs readin' I can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-just-thought-you-d-like-to-know-i-can-read-you-got-anything-needs/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Explore all 494 Harper Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harper Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-licked-before-you-begin-but-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-licked-before-you-begin-but-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/harper-lee-451_character_real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-lic_2535404.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/harper-lee-451_character_real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-lic_2535404.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1f/harper-lee-451_character_real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-lic_2535404.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no…” — Harper Lee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harper Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Real courage is when you know...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-licked-before-you-begin-but-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/real-courage-is-when-you-know-you-re-licked-before-you-begin-but-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```