Dale Carnegie

Born in 1888 in Maryville, Missouri, Carnegie was the son of a poor
farmer and apparently didn't see a train until he was 12 years old. In
his teens, though he still had to get up at 3 am every day to milk his
parents' cows, he managed to get educated at the State Teacher's
College in Warrensburg. His first job after college was selling correspondence
courses to ranchers, then he moved on to selling bacon, soap,
and lard for Armor & Company. He was successful to the point of
making his sales territory, south Omaha, the national leader for the
firm.
A desire to be an actor led Carnegie to the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts in New York, and after touring the country as Dr. Hartley
in Polly of the Circus, he returned to the sales fold, selling Packard
cars. He persuaded the YMCA to let him run public speaking courses
for business people, which were a great success, and his first book, Public
Speaking and Influencing Men in Business, was written as an aid to
teaching. Other books include How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
and Lincoln the Unknown. Carnegie training courses are now run all
over the world. The author died in 1955.