GK GETTING TO KNOW
Delivering high-energy messages that encourage people to live up to their full potential, motivational speaker and author John Mason has inspired thousands with his personal formulas for success and happiness. by DONNA LEAHEY | photos by MARC RAINS
You Can Do It, Be Yourself, and Believe You Can are nice inspirational words, but are also the titles of just three of the books written by Tulsa’s John Mason. Highly regarded international speaker, bestselling author, professional author coach, publisher, and minister, Mason is a busy man. “I ended up in Tulsa because I chose to go to Oral Roberts University [in 1973]. I actually didn’t even know who Oral was, but I had a friend who had gone to the school and really liked it,” he says. “I came down to visit the campus and it seemed like a good fit. So, I came 800 miles from Indiana and I’ve been here pretty much ever since then.” The people and the culture of Tulsa won Mason over. “Tulsa is kind of a big town and a small town at the same time. I’ve traveled all over the world, and I just love the friendly, positive, caring people here,” he says. “I’ve raised all my family here. All four of my children, who are adults now, grew up here and stayed here.” Mason has 25 inspirational titles under his belt, but it was a challenge to get that first one written.
“I never thought I would write a book,” he says. “I bought a book on how to write a book, and after I read it, I was convinced I could never do it. It was kind of a defining moment when I had lunch with a couple in the publishing business. They said, ‘Hey, you need to be yourself. You are known for stories, one liners, inspirational thoughts, your humor.’” So, Mason decided to just be himself. His first book was finished 27 years ago. “The book began to sell. It sold a lot of copies the first three months,” he says. “At the end of the first year, I’d sold more than 100,000 copies. I realized I’d hit a chord with positive, inspirational ideas that were short and to the point. People could pick up the book and get an idea that would stick with them throughout the day. And I’ve basically kept doing that for the last 27 years.” If he had to recommend just one of his books, he’d go back to his first effort. “An Enemy Called Average is my very first book. One of my best-sellers, more than half-a- million sold. I attack different areas that make us more mediocre, offering things that I’ve learned along the way, that have helped me.”
Positive Energy JOHN MASON
94 DECEMBER 2017