Was Dale Carnegie Really Ugly?

Dale Carnegie was the son of a poor farmer in Missouri. He was a skinny and gawky boy with a dimpled chin and huge ears. One of his classmates, Sam White, constantly made fun of his ears and always threatened to cut them off. Terrified that the bully would carry out his threat, the young Dale Carnegie endured many sleepless nights and never forgot the name of his tormentor. Unable to afford new clothes, he always wore hand-me-downs that never fit and often made him look silly. Of being called to the chalkboard to solve a math problem, he once told his mother, "I can only think of the fact that people are probably laughing at my clothes." But he was determined to make up for his lack of physical assets with his speaking abilities. A powerful orator, he won many public speaking contests, feats that transformed him from social failure to intellectual leader.

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