When I was 13 years old, I slipped and fell and chipped my front tooth. A quarter of my tooth was gone at a diagonal angle. Gone. ancient history. I hated it. Even my tongue and lower lip hated the feel of it. I would never look better in my entire life, but until age 21, I was sure that all people saw was a chipped tooth being transported by a 6-foot-tall body.

Whenever I saw a girl with a pretty face or an appealing personality, I wouldn't dare approach her. Why would she want anything to do with this big guy with a chipped tooth? …Especially one who smiled a lot as though flaunting it.

At the age of 21, my dentist repaired the tooth. No one noticed—not my best friends, not even my mother. It was weeks before I mentioned it to anyone, and the general reaction was, “Oh yeah,” as if no one even noticed my teeth!

50 years later, I often joke that my mind and heart both think I’m still 26, but my body thinks I’m 90. For the last few years, I’ve felt as though all people see is an old guy with weak legs who needs a tall stick to tackle stairs... even a curb, and whose hands have a tremor 4 or 5 times a day, requiring that I hold a full cup or glass with two hands like a four-year-old. Both conditions embarrass me.

The other day, I was talking with a young man in Varanasi, India. I told him how often Indians approached me to tell me that I reminded them of Mahatma Gandhi because they always saw me walking around with my tall stick. He disagreed. He said, “You think it's your stick? People see how you look at and talk with others… how comfortable and open you are with strangers. They approach you because you're approachable, not because of your stick.”

I’ve thought about that for days and realize that my age and declining health are another chipped tooth. People don't approach me out of pity for my age and health. They approach me because I'm approachable. The people drawn to me are drawn to my energy, authenticity, personality, big, goofy smile, or whatever else gets past my self-image.

I have a dear Indian friend who admitted that she is self-conscious about her short stature. I had to admit that I hadn't even noticed her height when I met her. When I think of her, what comes to mind is how talented she is at everything she attempts, what an incredibly good person she is, and how attractive she is.

Her height is her chipped tooth.

Many of us become so focused on our flaws that we convince ourselves that's all others see in us.

What’s your chipped tooth, and what exceptional qualities are hiding behind it?