Do you ever feel like you just don't fit the corporate mold? Like anywhere...or in any way? Well, Scott Mason knows all too well how you're feeling, and he's determined to help people just like you find power in your authenticity. Listen in for inspiration on how you can create your own "Funkytown" and ensure you go on the journey of your life.  Erin Haztikostas interviews Scott Mason, a former lawyer turned consultant and motivational speaker. Scott was adopted by African-Americans and raised in rural Middle America in an overwhelmingly white social milieu. Scott grew up far outside of any conceivable social box and knows all to well what it's like to wrestle with the concept of being your authentic self. Erin asks Scott about his early life, and Scott describes growing up in an area where he was misunderstood and how he had a unique perspective to view social stigmas (and experience many)through a lens that many people can't even imagine.  Erin then asks about his journey from Kansas to Minnesota and then to New York city. They talk about what drove him to become a lawyer...whether it was something he always had the confidence to do or not. Scott talks about early foundational experiences of his life and how they helped shape his decision.  Scott discusses wanting to be a lawyer, and the difference between the idea we have of a lawyer's job and the actual role, and how different they are from each other. Even with that difference though, it created a drive in him that helped motivate him to keep pushing forwards and outwards. After graduating from a liberal arts college, Scott applied to Law School where he truly began to realize not only the difference between the ideal of a lawyer and the reality, but also the reality of the environment he would be in and the people surrounding him. Scott talks about the different types of people he has met in his many experiences: lawyers, politicians, public servants, and non-profit workers.  He goes into detail about the joys and difficulties of working in the non-profit world, the judgments and stigmas we hold culturally for people in different situations, how we often lack understanding as to why someone may have ended up where they are, and why they need help and guidance instead of criticism.  When Erin prompts Scott to share some career advice from his experiences, he tells a story of one of his bosses from a government agency who said some truly unforgivable thing to him. So, Scott wants you all to remember that whatever got you in the door is also what will help you survive in the outside world. Erin asks Scott about a moment of realization in his life. Scott started a business with a partner, and after deciding to leave he took the chance to "enter the providential river". Looking back on his experiences, he realized he had been asking the wrong questions and looking in the wrong places. He started thinking instead as to how he could take his experiences, his gifts and his skills, and have them be of service.  Now he has a vision, a vision where heroes go on journeys of their lives together. He wants to build a space where people can connect to find their higher purpose, to build a better self and a better world.  Erin prompts Scott for some of his suggestions on what can help people get on that journey. He firsts suggests complementing people on a good job, we so often only comment on the negatives, assuming that pointing out failures will help people improve. But we underestimate the power that comes with people uplifting other people.  He follows this by telling us that the possibilities for the future are better than we can imagine, and our inability to see that is our own limitation. So, he says, "Step into new opportunities." Finally, he wants you to understand that nothing is permanent, which sounds scary, but is actually a thing of beauty.  Website: Podcast:   To preorder Erin's book You Do You(ish):   Follow Nicole on LinkedIn:   Follow Erin on LinkedIn:   If you like jammin' with us on the podcast, b sure to join us for more fun and inspiration! Here are some options... Check out the b BRILLIANT career coaching program @   b Cause Podcast Facebook group @   We even share more crazy stuff here (you probably thought that was impossible). Take our simple, fun and insightful "What Kind of Dog Are You At Work?" by going to   We have so much fun stuff going on...we wouldn't want you to miss out - join the authenticity movement and our community by adding your email just about anywhere @   Check out our blog for more of our no-BS career advice @   We have fun and inspiring t-shirts @ DISCLAIMER: This episode is not explicit, though contains mild swearing that may be unsustainable for younger audiences.  Tweetable Comments: "My parents did not like me being gay, and they were concerned about the way I looked because I might acclimate into the white community too much. Which was odd, because I never felt I could do that because of who I was." "Confidence comes from being in touch with your authentic self." "One of the foundational things in my life was the song "Funkytown"." "It was an environment where pedigree, elitism, and background were much less disguised and much more a part of the social hierarchy." "What motivates people can both define who they are and further silo who they become." "We have a tendency as a culture to make judgments on people's economic choices or what might be happening as a consequence in their lives."  "I feel the inability to process our emotions properly is something that perpetuates a lot of dysfunction." "I realized if I was going to be focussed on service, then my purpose would be infinitely easier to figure out." "I realized I was participating in the creation of my own nightmare." "The possibilities for the future are better than you can imagine. Your inability to see that is your own limitation." "Nothing is permanent. That's a scary concept, but it's also beautiful."