Confidence Redefined: A Journey of Storytelling, Vulnerability, and Strength | Bola Gbadebo
Jen Porter (00:00)
Hey, Lioness, welcome to the show, Lioness Conversations, where we help women be brave, to lead with confidence and joy, and to find your path to the most meaningful work of your life. I'm your host, Jen Porter, leadership and empowerment coach for ambitious and heart-centered women who are ready to change the world. Today, we have a very special guest, Bola Gbadebo. She is a true force of nature.
A visionary artist who masterfully weaves together film, poetry, and profound human stories. She's a former news anchor who now dedicates her extraordinary talent to building bridges of empathy in our communities. Through her lens, she captures the raw, unfiltered experiences of real people, revealing the powerful truth that we are far more connected than we are divided. Her work dives deep into complex societal themes.
confidence, love, forgiveness, identity, all with one singular unwavering purpose to foster connection. Bola, welcome to the show.
Bola Gbadebo (01:10)
Thank you. That was seamless. was pretty much the podcast.
Jen Porter (01:13)
I'm so excited to be having this conversation with you. So Dina Kam introduced us and you and I had the conversation
and I just fell in love with you and your story and couldn't wait to have a deeper conversation. So thank you for ⁓ being here today and giving your time.
Bola Gbadebo (01:34)
Absolutely, and I want to thank Dina for nominating me as a fellow lioness, but I'm so happy to be here and just, you know, share what I'm all about and more importantly, what I'm doing, which is far beyond me. Thank you.
Jen Porter (01:38)
Yes.
There you go. Yes.
So I know a little bit about what you're doing because I watched your documentary. So for the audience, Bola did a documentary and it's called Confidence. And she interviewed, you interviewed people in your community to find out their stories. And it, it was really amazing to see the individuals and their stories evolve through the documentary.
Bola Gbadebo (01:55)
Thank
Yeah.
Jen Porter (02:13)
Because it starts with one, you know, it's just like with
everything. Like we start and we're a little bit guarded. You know, people are a little bit uncomfortable being on camera, I'm sure. And then ⁓ it starts to show like itself. Like there's a comfort level that comes, but then they go deeper in their stories of sharing. like at one point I was in tears listening to the story of the woman who lost her aunt.
Bola Gbadebo (02:22)
Yes.
Yeah.
Jen Porter (02:42)
And the way that she opened up to share her pain and what this aunt meant to her and how hard it was to lose her. And it was just really moving. You did a beautiful job with that.
Bola Gbadebo (02:54)
Thank you, thank you for that. And I do feel like it's like pulling on a thread with people. I don't think a lot of people are used to being questioned in a vulnerable way. ⁓ Often achievements, often status, often ego. And those are all important, keeps the world running. But who are you? Like who are you beyond? For example, Jen Porter, who are you beyond an interviewer? You're a whole dynamic of a human being. And so pulling on that thread.
Jen Porter (02:58)
Mm-hmm.
Hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (03:19)
people were getting, you can't see the transition of like, okay, I can define confidence, that's it. And then it goes in and deeper into their personal stories. And what I even, what I learned from that is just how much people wanna be seen, how much people wanna be heard. And then I'm always recognize it. I think a lot of it was like therapy in a way that got people to talk about things they hadn't said in years or they never anticipated sharing on camera.
Jen Porter (03:36)
Hmm.
Bola Gbadebo (03:46)
And I think that's so brave. It's like, you're not only sharing this with me, but you're sharing it for other people who could help. And that's very, this whole project was empowering for me because I very much needed this just as much as I think other people do.
Jen Porter (03:58)
Hmm.
What made you need it?
Bola Gbadebo (04:03)
Wow. Well, confidence. Confidence is something, it's a tricky thing for me. And I defined it in the film as being something that's not linear. And for me, it's been like a fluctuating process of I wake up and I'm like, I'm mighty. I've done amazing things. I've done hard things and I can do it again. And then there are days I wake up and I'm like, I don't want to get out of my bed. The world is a scary place. People are mean. It's just, I get these very vulnerable.
sensitive, like just changes. shift and I realize that gosh, confidence is not this thing that you just reach. And in my mind and just seeing how other people operate, some people look so together, right? They look like they understand life, like they crack the code. And I'm like, I want to look like that person. They must be like, they must know all these things I don't know. But the reality of it is I look like that to some people.
Jen Porter (04:41)
you
Bola Gbadebo (05:01)
And I think that's hilarious. Cause I'm like, I'm so goofy, like uncoordinated. We talked about failure earlier. Like I fail, I shift, I laugh, I mess up. I make a series of little decisions and I call it my life. And I own it for a end goal. And it's just amazing. I'm like, that is all just a fabrication. It's all presentation. And I'm still learning that process. Conceptually, I understand it.
Jen Porter (05:15)
Hehehehehe ⁓
Bola Gbadebo (05:29)
but I still have to wake up and admit to myself that I am who I am sometimes. But it started to answer your question. ⁓ Confidence for me. I mean, I think it's something I always struggled with in some degree since childhood. And I think it's just the lack of validation in my strengths and the lack of validation in my identity really fostered this insecurity. And so it was just like a matter of training myself to like retrain my mind every day. Like, no, I can do this, I can do this.
Jen Porter (05:33)
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (05:58)
But yes, given my switch to a whole new career in a whole new city with no social foundation and me trying to learn something in a very competitive field as a news reporter, a news anchor, I never went to school for that. I never really understood much. was during COVID that I was like, you know what? I love storytelling and I love people and there's a career for this. It's called journalism. And so...
Jen Porter (06:22)
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (06:23)
I put a reel together, which is essentially your resume. They want to see how you present, how you tell stories. I watched some YouTube videos. I watched some news networks. I'm like, this is what reporters do.
Jen Porter (06:33)
Okay, okay, this is an incredible
story. So let me back up, because I wanna lay a foundation for this major transition that you made in your life, because it's incredible. So you were living in California, and this was during, when did this sort of the stirring of this start? Was it 2020 or 2021?
Bola Gbadebo (06:38)
Right.
2020 is one of the concepts and just like I created a SWOT analysis of my strengths and my weaknesses and I'm like, okay, I went to school for business marketing and I use my little business knowledge at the time. was like, okay, what can I do? Okay, SWOT analysis. Okay, I need to analyze me. I need to be self-aware. So I created a SWOT analysis. I wrote down my friends, weaknesses, and such. ⁓
I cross-analyzed with different career fields that I think I would fit in. I majored in sociology, but I didn't want to be a social worker. But I knew that I really cared about social dynamics and just, you know, how societies move, how people make decisions. And so ⁓ I came upon journalism because it's a way to network with a variety of mindsets, perspectives, and cultures and learn about them. And I really wanted that exposure. I didn't know how to do it for myself, but I'm like...
That is a career where I'm naturally gonna be, I'm gonna pivot into so many different fields of work and minds. And I wanted to build a network from that. I wanted to know people. was, at the time I didn't feel, and my feelings were false, but at the time I didn't feel like I was capable of like doing this on my own. Being able to talk to people confidently or.
And I thought I'd get all this training. Like being a news reporter, I mean, that's, I have to do it. I think that was my mindset. I have to do it. So that is part of the job. So come today.
Jen Porter (08:27)
for
So
you saw that as an avenue to be able to express your strengths and your desires and kind of like scan the world for different fields, know, industries, jobs, and this was one that you landed on and that's when you said, I've got to do it.
Bola Gbadebo (08:37)
Yeah. Yes.
Yeah, I was like, I'm a storyteller. knew that I had natural talents that would make me successful. What I didn't know was all the things I didn't know. And I learned that very humbly once I joined the news station I joined.
Jen Porter (09:02)
⁓
So you made that decision, you did the SWOT analysis and made the decision. And then how did you think about, okay, I'm gonna do this, but how did you decide where you would land a job in that field?
Bola Gbadebo (09:17)
So I like nature and I like hiking. I looked up, ideally, I'm like, well, where do I actually want to live if I do this? ⁓ LA was great for the sense that there's so much access to different activities, but I think I wanted a quieter place. I know COVID was, ⁓ it was a strange time. It was a strange time for everyone. And some people thrived in it. Some people really struggled. And it was very sad for so many people. I would say personally,
I was so happy the world slowed down. And I don't want to minimize anyone else's stresses and pressures there, but I could think. I could finally think. I didn't feel left behind. I didn't feel like I was doing all the wrong things. I was just at peace. And I realized I like slow paced or rather smaller communities where you can be more involved and not feel like you need to catch up all the time. And LA just was.
It's not that Los Angeles is just not that and so looking at Oregon and I didn't even know about Ben specifically but looking at Oregon I was always curious like I would like to live in Oregon I mean they have they have I knew about Tamale Falls. I knew about Silver Falls I knew about the nature spots that I wanted to visit and ⁓ and I think my second yeah, it was Idaho and I Didn't know much about Idaho. I don't know why I chose Idaho, but I chose Idaho and I also chose ⁓
Washington. And so they're all kind of generally like in like, you know, kind of close to each other. And I wanted to experience one of those states. Oregon is the one that I got more opportunities in. I got a station in Idaho and then two in Oregon. And then I looked up Bend being one of the people that one of the stations that wanted to hire me and I'm like, my gosh, that place is beautiful. And I hadn't heard about it before and I wanted to explore it. And I'm like, what a great place to be a news reporter.
Jen Porter (11:05)
Yeah.
So how did you talk about, you started to talk about it. How did you put together a portfolio to be able to submit an application for this field that you've never done it before? ⁓
Bola Gbadebo (11:13)
Yeah.
Yeah.
⁓ so I guess I'll start with the basics. I mean, I asked, I asked my brother is, he's a pharmaceutical sales consultant, but he's also a coach. And I was telling him what I wanted to do. And he was like, okay, have you reached out to other reporters? Have you reached out to anchors? Like, what are you doing to help facilitate this? And I'm like, that's a good idea. So I reached out to other reporters and I talked about them, I talked with them somewhere for like Cron 4. They're actually really receptive, which I really appreciate. but all of them had the advice of.
you know, getting like a, a coach or an agent to help create my reel. And at that time, I don't know what it is today, but a coach and agent was like $1,000. And I didn't want to pay that. And that is just something I realized, well, if I can go on YouTube and identify what needs to go into this portfolio, then maybe I can do it myself. I have ample time. was COVID at the time I got laid off. I was working at ⁓ a car company doing sales.
I can't sell water to an Eskimo. just, it wasn't my cup of tea. It was so evident early on. So I was okay just completely finding something else. And so I started reaching out to news reporters and news anchors and I had these conversations with them and it was very helpful. I decided to start watching YouTube videos instead of trying to find my own agent. In these YouTube videos, I learned how to use Premier Pro, which is an editing platform. I learned...
the basis of a story, how to put it together, what kind of questions to ask. It was, I mean, it was a little rough. I definitely didn't go to school for this, but it was good enough. It was the who, the who, what, where, when, why. You want to get the basics. You also want to get the most important expressions of someone in an interview. It's a lot of information that you kind of want to dwindle down into a minute and 30 seconds. And so that is the challenge. That is the task. And so I'm like, how do I get this story?
and get it in a very digestible way. So I practiced. I practiced with my brother and then I practiced at a farmer's market. I'm like, let me just do a store on a farmer's market and see what that's like. And that was really fun. And then I went to, at the time it was called CHOP. ⁓ It's an acronym, but it had to do with the Occupied Protest. It was a movement in Seattle. They took up a six block radius and decided to be their own government. It only worked for a couple of weeks, but.
I went down there and I was like, this is a great report. I want to know. But I was genuinely passionate about like, why are you here and how are you sustaining yourself? how do you like, what is your foresight? What do you see in the next month? Are you going to keep living here? And I wanted to actually find these things out. So I remember telling my brother, I'm like, and I lived with him at the time. was like, I'm going to go for a couple days to Seattle. I'll see you later. I love you. Bye. He's like, what? She's gone. And so.
I drove down to Seattle and I stayed in ⁓ a mutual, friend's ⁓ home and I went to Occupied protest every day for about four days and I just got interviews. I just wanted to know why people were doing what they were doing, how they were doing it. And it was, was just, it was so fun for me. It was so meaningful, but it was so fun. Like, and then people were so receptive and I realized at first I just thought maybe it's just, they wanted to talk about it.
Jen Porter (14:40)
Huh.
Bola Gbadebo (14:47)
But I realized in my news industry, not everybody's receptive with certain personalities and certain people. And I think that really highlighted the gift that I had. I can draw things out of people. I can make them feel like they're not, like I'm not threatening. Like I'm not just a news source or news station trying to gain information, but that I actually do care because I do. And so understanding that quality in me and then fine tuning it and putting this real together was so fun and exciting. Now at the time when I was doing this,
Jen Porter (14:55)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (15:17)
there was no deadlines. So, not reality, a little later. But I was just like, yeah, I'm hang out with John, who I just learned, like has three kids and this and that. I'm gonna talk to Jenny. And so I put it together. I learned how to use the editing platform. I submitted it to like three different stations. looked, Ben was one of the receptive ones at one of the stations there. And so they're like, yeah, we would love to...
Jen Porter (15:19)
You
Bola Gbadebo (15:43)
and I'm like, okay, but I have no experience, but I'm so willing to learn and I have a student mentality and they're like, great. I drove out, I remember packing my car to the brim. I was so excited. I was like, bye everybody, I love you all. I'm gonna chase my dreams now. And yeah, I was not nervous about leaving because I truly had no obligations. no kids, I'm not married. I wasn't even dating at the time, I'm not dating now. And so it's just being a free spirit, but being a determined one.
I moved to Bend a day before I started working and I just ran into it. ran with it. And then I learned the hard part about being a reporter.
Jen Porter (16:24)
It's incredible that you made that move. It's incredible to me that you got hired.
Bola Gbadebo (16:31)
Honestly, it was to me too. I'm like, I don't know how this is working, but I'm so grateful. And I know myself, maybe they saw something also in me that I think is very much there, but I also knew what I could deliver. It's just a matter of learning it and trusting the process, but I know I'm a determined person. so I wasn't too worried about what I would encounter, but I still didn't know what I would experience.
Jen Porter (16:48)
Yeah.
What did you think was gonna happen once you moved to Bend?
Bola Gbadebo (17:02)
Well, my naivete. I thought that once I got into the station, I would get trained, like knowing that, you know, I didn't have this professional background. Like, yeah, we're going to spend weeks training you and make you a great reporter and anchor. And you're going to know all the facets and check all the boxes. And no, I think about four days in, they're like, hey, you're on air. And I'm like, I don't know what to do on air. I'm so nervous. Wait, I'm a shy personality. Wait.
What about learning? What about the training? What about the like, that is the training. And I realized early, and this is so humbling for me. I realized that even if you're scared, do it scared. And again, I think I put myself in a position where I forced myself to learn because if I had known all the factors of being a news reporter, I probably would have wimped out about it, but ⁓ it was great because I just.
Jen Porter (17:43)
Mm.
Bola Gbadebo (17:59)
It gave me so much courage and it gave, it made me comfortable. And it wasn't immediate. It made me comfortable looking silly for a while. I think it took a long time. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I didn't know how to say like so many names of different places because I wasn't familiar with that territory. And I didn't move here prior to really learn it. I literally drove the day before. So they threw me on air almost immediately. And I'm like, uh, Yakama?
Jen Porter (18:08)
So I guess you made a lot of mistakes. I mean, you probably stumbled and fumbled.
Bola Gbadebo (18:31)
Yakwama, Tumulo fault. It was just, you look silly, you look silly. And people, mean, luckily we're in a community where they understand that it's, they're just really understanding. They understand that it's a small community, but they also understand this is like a first station, a training station rather. And so, and they've seen, you know, new faces quite often because people come here and they stay for their contract and they move on to bigger stations. that's the goal.
Jen Porter (18:48)
Okay.
Bola Gbadebo (18:59)
So yeah, there was a lot of grace, I would say from the community, but in the beginning, yeah, it was rough because I'm just, I didn't realize that I was just kind of be thrown into the wolves ⁓ and then judged accordingly. I didn't know any better. And so.
Jen Porter (19:13)
What was that judgment like? Cause it's one thing to, ⁓ to do things in a, in a small space, to, to, to put ourselves out there and try something with a small audience. ⁓ even an audience that doesn't have the right to judge you. Like that's just not part of the job, but for you, it's very, it was very public. You're, literally putting your, your face and your, your, you know, your speaking ability out for the public that you live in.
Bola Gbadebo (19:20)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes.
Yes.
Jen Porter (19:43)
to see.
So what kind of reactions were you getting?
Bola Gbadebo (19:48)
⁓ I would say the community was actually very graceful. And I say that because I do think there was that element, like I said, of understanding how the station operates. Not with everybody. Some people are like, why did you say that? And, you know, I don't feel that way and political based stuff. ⁓ But for majority, I would say I got really graceful responses. And I would say one of the most common
⁓ phrases I would hear as a news reporter is, wow, you're getting so good. You're getting so much better. And that just means like, they're watching the journey and acknowledging pitfalls, but seeing the growth. And I didn't that really, it's unnerving to hear that because that means they've also seen your worst. For someone to say you're getting so much better is like, man, you've seen it. But at the same time, it's just like, gosh, you're supported. Like you guys get it.
I would say a lot of the judgment came from peers for the sense that it's a competitive field. And I don't naturally think like that. And so I didn't come in thinking like, that person's my competitor. We might compete from the next station or the anchor position. ⁓ But me learning, like this is a TV job. It brings in different personalities. It depends what your focus and your motivation is. My motivation was very different. It was about telling stories and
Jen Porter (20:59)
Okay.
Bola Gbadebo (21:12)
bringing people together and like, can't we all win? And so in a way it was very genuine, but also very naive and industry where that's not the common thought. That's not what everybody's there for. And so I would say a lot of the critique actually was internal and it was more so you don't really have a place here. You didn't go to school for this. You don't deserve it. And so it was, was combating that while trying to learn, while trying to prove myself, while really just trying to live my mission.
Jen Porter (21:15)
You
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (21:39)
but I'm so sensitive. So it's just like all these things.
Jen Porter (21:40)
Yeah.
So where did, what was happening with your own confidence in that time period of like taking this big leap of faith, like confidence in yourself that you can do this and yet stumbling and you know, and then you found yourself competing that you didn't know that it was a competition and a lot of, ⁓ maybe like just different values that were coming against yours. What was that like for you? And yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (21:47)
man, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jen Porter (22:11)
Were you aware of what was happening with your confidence?
Bola Gbadebo (22:15)
I was 100 % aware. would say I'm very self-aware and I'm very sensitive. So I absorb a lot of people's emotions and I understand how I'm processing it. Now it doesn't mean I'm really good at controlling how I respond to things, but I understand what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. ⁓ In that time, my confidence, it was rough. I had to convince myself every day that I belonged there. ⁓
Jen Porter (22:30)
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (22:41)
Fair public speaking was like one of my biggest things and I'm in a career where you have to public speak. And so I have to be on TV. And when I was an anchor, quick pivot, I'm gonna come back to this, but it's really funny. When I was an anchor, I started as a weekend anchor before I was a morning anchor. And I used to have this fidget spinner and I would have to like have it under the desk all the time, just to like keep me composed because I was just so nervous and.
Jen Porter (22:51)
Okay.
Bola Gbadebo (23:07)
I remember when I spoke like this. Good morning. Good morning, everyone. was just really, it was such a process. And I was straight with fear. was just, and I mean, that's also testament to my confident at the time. I knew I could do it, but I wasn't there yet. And I think in my mind, was like, I know I can get there, but how do I get there? Because right now I'm here and I really don't like this. It's so uncomfortable and it's embarrassing. And I had a fidget spinner and we had a
Jen Porter (23:16)
And that was fear, was that?
⁓
Bola Gbadebo (23:36)
controller for the prompter near our feet. And so we would control the prompter with our foot. And that would allow me to read the news. And I remember I was so nervous, my foot wouldn't stop twitching. And so the prompter was playing. And I was just, well, I'm so sorry. It was a humbling experience, but like, just, remember my confidence journey. And so ⁓ it started really rough. It started with, and it wasn't lack of ability. It was just lack of faith in myself.
Jen Porter (23:41)
Okay.
Mmm.
Bola Gbadebo (24:06)
I just
had the skills, I could speak, I cared about people. I knew how to read. We all know how to read. So I was like, these aren't even hard things. No, it is. It's so simple. We complicated, but it's the pressure of the competition and then the thoughts of just false narratives of you don't belong here. You didn't earn it. You don't know what you're doing and people don't like you and all these like this combination of things just makes you feel like you can't do what you can already do sometimes.
Jen Porter (24:09)
Yeah.
Right? It seems so simple.
That's
a lot to come, that's a lot to face every day. Did you have thoughts of giving up, quitting? Never did.
Bola Gbadebo (24:39)
Everyone.
No, no, I that's
a weird thing about my mind like I'm so optimistic because I can feel these things but I'm always like no, but it's I can I can get there and that I can't even take credit for that. I'm a Christian and I strongly believe my faith. I believe that Jesus is just my Savior and in that comes this reliance of where I do not have strength he does where I cannot live he can and
Jen Porter (24:55)
Yeah. ⁓
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (25:12)
I think that has kept me so grounded. In fact, I remember in my faith journey, it strengthened because I felt so alone. And I was like, I have no friends here. I don't know anybody, but God, you're here, right? I can do this, right? You brought me here for a reason. You know my skills, you know my gifts. I am confident in my skills, my gifts. There's this one quote I really like. I'm trying to recall it. Don't mistake inexperience for...
⁓ lack of competence. think it was something like that. The idea though is just because you don't know it yet doesn't mean you're you're not suitable for this. Doesn't mean it's not yours. Yeah.
Jen Porter (25:56)
So good. So
good. But you're talking about the most uncomfortable places to be is when we haven't mastered something. When we're... What's that? Am I falling? Yeah. And I think that's a lot of what holds us back. know for me in my life, I realized in my probably 30s,
Bola Gbadebo (26:06)
Yeah, and it's public. And it's public. no.
Thank
Jen Porter (26:25)
⁓ that, ⁓ I don't do things cause I don't want to fail. Like I don't, I, I just won't do them because I don't want to expose myself to the possibility of failure. And I didn't yet have a growth mindset. I had a fixed mindset. It was like, either have it or I don't either have confidence or you don't. I didn't know that things could be developed. And so I just wouldn't try. And I think that's a lot of what holds people back is, not, not being able to.
Bola Gbadebo (26:39)
Hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Jen Porter (26:53)
to withstand the discomfort of being vulnerable for a long period of time. Because it's not like, okay, week two, you figured it out and now everybody loves you and you're getting promotions. It's like, of course, we would all love for it to be that way, but that's not actually how things work. There's something that you shared before. I wanted to pull it out.
Bola Gbadebo (26:56)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, I wanted it to be that I did.
Yeah.
Jen Porter (27:21)
You said I often found I was underestimated because my confidence was not in congruence with my ability.
Bola Gbadebo (27:30)
Yes. man. Yes.
Jen Porter (27:34)
so profound.
My confidence was not in congruence with my ability. So tell us about that.
Bola Gbadebo (27:40)
Yeah.
I don't even know where to start with that. It's so true and it's an observation that I had with how people would receive me. I think when starting out, not just internally, but also publicly and though there was a lot of grace, there was those conflict points. I'm a reporter, a lot of people didn't like the news, but me not knowing certain things and there is this expectation as a reporter.
that you know everything, know, 100 % what you're going into, you know, the details, you talk to the DA and you talk to like somewhere in a different, someone in a different country and you knew all of it. That's just not the case. A lot of the times we've received stories that morning. And if that story didn't work out, we would have to make a pivot within like 20, 25 minutes to a whole new story, which does not give us time to learn the details of what we're about to jump into. But we still have to show up. We still have to ask the questions. That is the challenge in news, which is also why.
transitioned out, but that was a challenge. And in a lot of these interactions, there was that, ⁓ especially in the beginning, you don't know what you're talking about. Therefore, you're not equipped to do what you're doing. And that's not true. Now, can I speak to a better training process? Absolutely. But.
⁓ But a lot of it realizing that, you know, it's I'm accountable to my face on air. It's it's my name on the report. You know, that's that's what it's me. No one's going to know my stories don't matter. The excuses don't matter and it shouldn't. And so it was just more about me taking accountability. And OK, you're right. I don't know about this, but what can I do to prepare? How can I prepare? How can I learn how to learn for this type of job? ⁓ But yes, in those interactions, it sometimes felt
really belittling for the fact that I just didn't know what I was going into. And I wouldn't necessarily say it was my fault. But it was something that I realized I need to create solutions for for myself. ⁓ And even internally, I think it confused a lot of people when when I did get certain things or when I was able to do certain reports a certain way that was really resonating with the community. Like, how did she do it? She didn't go to school for it. didn't. What's going on here? ⁓ You know, like how she that why she like, you know, and it's just there was a lot of those mentalities and
I can answer that for them actually. Like a lot of it I think just has to do with, I'm empathetic and I think caring, genuinely caring about people will win every time because people can read people. And it's very simple. It's not about your skill because all these things are teachable. I learned over time, but I think it was that one factor that people really identified and really resonated with in the community that kind of helped elevate me quicker than some others. ⁓ But yes, ⁓
It is weird to be in a space where you know you're capable, but you're not acting like it because you're still insecure about where you act. And that is how I've operated for so long in that field. ⁓ especially starting out, it's like my voice would be small or I just wouldn't carry myself. Like I knew what I was doing, even though once I was back to the drawing board, I was doing amazing creative things and they're like, Whoa, like that was a great story. And it's just like,
Jen Porter (30:39)
Hmm.
Bola Gbadebo (31:00)
But I never came off that way. And so it was confusing for others. ⁓ And I think that's fair. It's like, well, if you don't come off confident, if you come off like you don't know you're doing, how else would they perceive that? And so, wow.
Jen Porter (31:04)
Huh.
Hmm.
Did you have mentors that came alongside
of you at that point in your career that helped?
Bola Gbadebo (31:22)
I'm not so much internally. I think and I think it's because it was just so competitive that it was just, you know, there's a lot of favoritism and so many things going on. But ⁓ not to say that nobody supported me within the station. I made some really solid friendships and I really appreciate them. But as far as actually getting help in ability, I had a couple of people outside the station in different states that were also operating ⁓ in the news field.
And it was helpful, but they were also very elevated places. And the advice was pretty generic for someone just starting. And so she was like, just keep doing what you're doing. It gets better. And it wasn't a lie. Keep doing what you're doing. It does get better. it wasn't very, and maybe it couldn't have been. Maybe it's just, that's just part of the experience. It's gonna stop now and then.
Jen Porter (32:04)
You ⁓
When you talked
about the Seattle story that you did became your portfolio to apply, you said something that I was like, well, that's the dream, which is what I get to do. You said it's meaningful and fun. And my work is meaningful and fun. Like it's deep and it's profound and it's it's transformative. And I talk about really serious things with my clients that they trust me with things they don't even share with anybody else in their life.
Bola Gbadebo (32:23)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jen Porter (32:45)
It's very sacred ground, but it's also really fun for me. That's the part that helps me keep going. ⁓ was news fun and meaningful for you?
Bola Gbadebo (32:50)
Yeah.
elements of it. I think what the fun part about news, it's so dynamic and I really did appreciate that meeting so many different fields and people and even if I wasn't necessarily interested in their area of expertise, it was just like, now I know something about it. What is it like to be the county clerk or what is it like to be the DA? And I mean, those were actually really interesting fields for me, but in general, it was great. Now I would say that not every story I was equally passionate about. I'm so much more interested in
what's going on in another part of the world or Ukraine or covering the anti-trafficking project or something that's really human related over why we're not preserving the ponderosis. And it's not that it's not an important issue, but it's just, it doesn't speak to me with the same level of depth and rawness and just, and love that another human interest story speaks to me with. So it was constantly like, oh, I don't want to do this story.
I love this story. I want to this story. It would just alternate. One thing that they realized in my station, my news director at the time realized that I had such a passion for homelessness that she would put me on most of the stories I had to do with homelessness because they would also talk to me. And that wasn't the case with all the reporters, but they would let me in. They're like, let me tell you about what's going on. Bola's here. And there's certain things when it comes to human relations, I was thriving at those types of stories. ⁓
When I didn't get them, I wouldn't complain, but you could tell the difference. You could see like, okay, this is pretty basic. She's getting, you know, the basic information. She's getting what we need, but there was no heart in it. And I want to do things where I can consistently have heart in it. So.
Jen Porter (34:43)
It's, I have found in myself that
there, ⁓ headlines, headlines don't do it for me. You know, these like short clips, I want to know the meat. Like I want to know the full story. And so I, so now I gravitate toward podcasts cause I get to hear an entire conversation about a topic. And I noticed about you that you're a long form person. Like you, you seem like you want to develop the story and really get to know people. And so.
Bola Gbadebo (34:54)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
Jen Porter (35:13)
Did that, was that hard for you to have to like, you know, have a story be 90 seconds or 30 seconds?
Bola Gbadebo (35:22)
⁓ my gosh, that was one of the hardest points for me because not only is there a deadline, so you know, get your questions and get out. You still have to put the whole story together. It has to air the same day. But also just, I would hear such profound things and I would write this whole script and then it would just be cut down because we have to get it, we have to get it reviewed before we can air it. And I'm just like, no, you're cutting out the depths of the meaning of the love. And did you hear about our journey? Wasn't it amazing? They're like, yeah.
Well, I just realized you're just taking the meaning out of it. And I mean, it's still a skill. lot of reporters, if I can do this, like, you know, take a meaningful story and still within a minute and 30 seconds, get depth. And I was able to do that, too. But just imagine how much more when you can sit with a person and understand their story without having to piece it together yourself. Because when you do that, you're just you're assuming.
a of the time, you're okay, I don't know how we got there, but yeah, that must have been this and it's just, creates this false narrative and you never heard the real story and this person is getting, you know, criticized or whatever for a story they never really get to fully tell. And that was hard for me as a news reporter. I learned a lot of skills, but that part really made me start thinking about the transition. Yeah, that's one of the reasons for sure.
Jen Porter (36:32)
you
Yeah. Is that why you left?
Bola Gbadebo (36:48)
I would say that was probably one of the biggest reasons. One, I felt like I reached a time where I kind of learned what I was gonna learn at that station. Like I said, it was a beginner type of thing. You learn how to edit, you learn how to use the camera, you learn how to interview. And I felt like for where my talents were going and how much I excelled in the time period that was there, I was like, it's time to go. It's time to really like utilize this. I'm doing great things and it's far beyond now what I'm doing. So yeah, halfway through my contract, I actually started putting
putting documentaries together. Yeah, I was, was using whatever equipment I had. like, I'm going to try to do this myself. But yes, that that's pretty much what catalyzed it. Like this conversation already would have been broken down into 30 seconds. It just kills me to know like, what are you going to capture in 30 seconds?
Jen Porter (37:20)
Okay. ⁓
Wow.
Right.
Yeah, like a little snippet, which might be compelling.
mean, there, you're right. There is a skill to doing that in a way that captures, you know, a particular audience's attention, but we don't know the person. So what are you doing now? What's your mission now?
Bola Gbadebo (37:50)
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, so I create human interest documentaries. So that transition for me, so during that time I started this film confidence. I started just interviewing people initially for myself and then I decided, wow, the insight that I'm receiving needs to be shown. So it started with 30 interviews. I narrowed it down to 18 interviews and.
That was my passion project and that was just something I wanted to do to see if it would resonate, it resonated. And now I've full on created my own short film production platform full of films. And so that is my first product and full of what my name and what I do. I kept it simple. And so that is, now I'm just learning how to do the business.
Jen Porter (38:32)
Bola Films. Okay. Yes. Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (38:43)
not creating films, but I also am a poet and I in my films I incorporate high poetry, and that is something I have strong passion for as well.
Jen Porter (38:52)
Sue, all of the poetry that showed up in the documentary, that's yours?
Bola Gbadebo (38:57)
yeah, I've written thousands of haikus about shared experiences.
Jen Porter (39:01)
Wow. Okay. So I want to hear how you came to be. us about your childhood. What were you like as a little girl?
Bola Gbadebo (39:14)
Childhood was interesting. So I have three siblings a total of four of us But they're all six seven and eleven years older than me So a lot of my childhood people they used to make fun of me and say that I act like I'm a single child But a lot of the time I felt like it because I wouldn't tap into my resources I didn't know how because they were older and estranged and I just you know, didn't know them ⁓
I was raised by my dad. We were all raised predominantly by my dad. My mom has always been in the picture, always a loving force, but didn't have the capability to raise for children. And so ⁓ they got divorced when I was two or three and it was difficult for my parents. It was difficult for my dad. ⁓ And it showed in his parenting style. He wasn't as present, but he was too busy providing.
and was trying provide for all four kids. And so he owns his own company. He is an electrical engineer and he would always be doing his thing. So providing for his kids, but in the absence of his presence was me in my room. ⁓ There's a lot of cultural values in there, but he would always emphasize education. So, you know, study instead of going out with friends or doing these sleepovers or all these social shenanigans, you need to stay home and study.
I didn't have that social ⁓ balance that maybe other kids get. And so I spent so much time by myself and I spent so much time in myself, by myself in a room. And if it wasn't with the textbook, it was something that was supposed to be educational. But I also wasn't that personality that was so self-motivated that would just sit in a room and be like, I'm going to become the mathematician of the family. know, I was more, I was emotionally in tune, sensitive, really self-aware.
really wanted to talk to people. So I just got really sad. I was really quiet and I was really sad and I wasn't performing academically at the time. so culturally that academics is a sign of success. It's like, if you're not doing this, then are you a loser? Are you going to be anything in life? And a lot of the feedback I was getting about myself was negative. was, it's a lot of it was you have potential. And I learned to hate the word potential because
Jen Porter (41:32)
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (41:33)
It was basically
saying you can do things, but you're not in there for your loser. And I didn't know how to process that, but that was a lot of the feedback I was getting. And so it was basically to me a confirmation that I just can't do it. I just don't know how to do it. And I won't figure it out because I'm not doing it because I have the potential, but I'm not doing it. And so, yeah, I spent a lot of time with myself, reinforcing the narratives that I heard about me. And it made me very quiet. It made me very self critical.
And it was challenging because I definitely became a people pleaser from that mentality. Like, okay, I can't do for me, but I can do for you. I can't get motivated to help myself, but I can get motivated to help other people. And so I started to act that way and people will take advantage of that because it's like, oh, okay, that person can't fix their own life, but they're ready to do what they need to do to help me. it's a...
Jen Porter (42:11)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (42:31)
Beautiful quality in a way, because I'm still very much that empathetic person, but now with boundaries. ⁓ But yeah, I spent a lot of time by myself, a lot of time ⁓ just telling myself I can't do things. So even today, and you're gonna laugh, I don't know if I told you this already, but I write haikus, like I said. I've written thousands of haikus, and they're wonderful. People love them. And I remember I woke up one day and I couldn't write a haiku.
Jen Porter (42:37)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (43:01)
And like, I convinced myself, I don't know how to write them anymore. I don't, I can't do it anymore. I, I'm just not a haikuist. And it was just so funny because I'm like, how do you say that to yourself after you've had a proven track record of success? And it's, it's just one of those things I've realized that's just what I struggle with. It's like, can prove it myself and do it and still not know it. Still not think I know it, but I'm aware of that. So it's just like this weird complex of like, but you know, that's not true.
Jen Porter (43:13)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
from you.
Bola Gbadebo (43:30)
but you're still acting like it's true. You gotta break it. ⁓
Jen Porter (43:33)
It's kind like what you
said earlier where there's a, it's a daily renewing of our mind, a daily reminding ourselves of who we are because we will forget. We will lose sight.
Bola Gbadebo (43:43)
Yeah.
Yeah. And I try to take lines, main to help with memory. Apparently it helps lines main. ⁓ well, I don't take it anymore. I don't think it was in powder form. I took it. I put it in my coffee. Yeah. It was like in a certain kind, maybe it was powdered into my coffee. It was like, maybe I just need to remember more. ⁓ but it's much deeper than that. It was, it's just really trusting that I can do what I can do.
Jen Porter (43:54)
yes, yeah, do you take a powder form?
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (44:19)
⁓
Jen Porter (44:19)
So how did you, so you were pretty
isolated as a child, sad, not performing, not living up to your potential. ⁓ Did the world feel scary to you because you were, your world was a little small, right, if you weren't doing a lot of social things and putting yourself out there.
Bola Gbadebo (44:29)
Yeah.
Yes. Yeah. I didn't want to my friends.
Yeah, I remember and it's a funny thought. It's actually a really sad thought, but I remember waking up one day and it was after a difficult discussion with my dad. ⁓ Well, I woke up, we had a difficult discussion and it was more so his, he was less than enthusiastic in my progress as a human being. ⁓ And I just remember sitting there like, I'm a loser. Everyone believes I'm a loser. And it was said that I was a loser. So it's just.
Jen Porter (45:03)
Hmm.
Bola Gbadebo (45:12)
I remember thinking to myself, maybe, maybe my life will be within these walls. Maybe that's what it is for me. Maybe that's, and I'm, it sounds so ridiculous because literally it was just conceding and accepting the reality that I can't be bigger than this room. And, ⁓ it's making me emotional.
Jen Porter (45:29)
Hmm.
Bola Gbadebo (45:34)
But yeah, it's crazy to think how small I thought, but how big you turn out being. Yeah, I'm like, I'm so much bigger in a room. And ⁓ I'm in a reality now where people are expressing, hey, I look up to you. Thank you for what you're doing. Hey, I want to be some sort of asset in your life some way, somehow. I just want to know you. And it's just so funny if I really...
Jen Porter (45:43)
you work.
Hmm.
Bola Gbadebo (46:04)
lived according to what I thought. That would have been a sad story and I think of how many people do.
Jen Porter (46:06)
Yeah.
Yeah, metaphorically
or literally. And I think about the caged bird. Do know the story of the caged bird? So ⁓ the story is that there's a bird that's in a cage, but then there's no way for that bird to get out. The door is closed. And so the bird learns to live within the confines of that cage, and it doesn't even realize that it has wings because there's no space to fly.
Bola Gbadebo (46:17)
It's not so familiar, can you tell me more?
Jen Porter (46:38)
And so even once that door is opened, the bird doesn't leave because it doesn't realize that it can exist outside of that cage. And even when it's outside of the cage, it doesn't realize that it has wings and it's a bird and it's designed to fly. so, yeah, that's what it makes me think of is that we, think about myself that way, that we're made to fly.
we're gifted with these wings, but we don't fully, I don't know if we ever fully, fully embody our capabilities and the greatness that we're designed for. We can get really, really close, but it starts with our mind. And for you to step outside of the boundaries of the room that you were in, mean, what was that? How did you break free from that?
Bola Gbadebo (47:23)
Yeah.
Yeah.
I do really well when I'm by myself, I've realized. I went to college, I didn't get into the university at the time. My grades were not adequate. I went to a community college and being in a space where...
I think being in a new space for me, I thrive because no one knows me. No one knows I have to create. I have to do. have to myself out there. And there's something very exciting about putting myself in a space where I have to build myself up again. And I guess I forget the old narrative because I'm in a new area and new people and being away from the critics and truthfully my family.
really put me in a space where, wait a minute, what can I do without all these voices and just without feeling so insecure? Because even if no one's saying anything, because I don't want to demonize anyone, even if they're not saying it, it's that energy you get around a certain person that you, it's still, it's like a cloak on me. And my family is so high achieving and they're all wonderful, really ambitious people, but I never felt like I fit into that grind. ⁓
Jen Porter (48:42)
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (48:55)
And I also do think I had a different reality because of the age gap and how I was raised independently. So I didn't have those influences maybe that motivated them ⁓ the way they're motivated. And so I'm like, okay, but I do know one thing about me. When I'm by myself, I thrive. I find a way to thrive. I meet the people, I do the things, I have fun doing it. I don't have the fear of too much on my shoulders.
Jen Porter (49:00)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
When did you become
a writer? What? Okay, maybe you didn't identify as a writer, but when did you start writing?
Bola Gbadebo (49:29)
Yeah.
I would say more consistently, I'm going to go ahead and say college. I wrote different types of poetry every now and then I would perform, but it was a hobby. It was more of a hobbyish thing. During COVID I wrote like a short film and I didn't think about being a filmmaker at the time yet. I just wrote a short film and I was writing different poetry and I realized that my writing is very visual, which makes it very short film-esque. So.
⁓ Yeah, I kept writing and then at some point during news reporting I realized wait a minute I've always been a storyteller news reporting involves storytelling, but I don't want to be this type of storyteller want to be that type of story Yeah Yeah
Jen Porter (50:16)
Amazing. So you're a poet, you're a filmmaker, you were a TV producer, ⁓
TV reporter, I guess I would say.
Bola Gbadebo (50:26)
All of it, you're a producer, ⁓ reporter, anchor. yeah, that's how I learned how to literally this is it's not the premise of being a filmmaker because I learned how to use platforms. learned how to write the news for the news. I learned how to report the news. ⁓ I learned everything I need to know.
Jen Porter (50:29)
You did your own stuff. That was part of the...
Wow.
Incredible.
So what's next for you? What are you working on now? And then what do you want to be working on in, I don't know, the next several years?
Bola Gbadebo (50:54)
So I'm working on a documentary on romantic love So the reason I've chosen this and I realize a lot of my passions do come from, you know, my own experiences But they're relatable but I I guess the question behind this documentary is how do people date and how do they state it and It's kind of a mystery because I'm not seeing the strongest examples in how to do that successfully
Jen Porter (51:06)
Yes.
Bola Gbadebo (51:23)
And I know a lot of people are battling social isolation. And I think it's a little ironic to be in a world that's so socially connected and so many people are single, but desiring love. It's so wild to me. And so I want to explore this more and just pull out these threads. So for this documentary, I'm interviewing married couples, divorces, singles, widows and widowers. And I just want to get a greater sense of how people understand love and how they show love.
Jen Porter (51:33)
Totally.
Bola Gbadebo (51:53)
what works, doesn't. ⁓ When they're so angry and forgiveness is such a hard concept, how do they stay together? Because I really think it'll help my generation and younger generations too. And just learning how to date, especially in a world with no Bumble and what are all the apps and people show up differently on these things than they would in person.
Jen Porter (52:01)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (52:19)
And I
really want to reconcile this idea of like what dating is and how do I date.
Jen Porter (52:24)
Wow,
that's gonna be amazing.
Bola Gbadebo (52:27)
I think so. think it's going to have a lot of depth. Love is a deep subject.
Jen Porter (52:31)
It is. And you're looking at all
the different variations of love, like love even after it's gone.
Bola Gbadebo (52:36)
Yeah. Yeah. And this is going to be a documentary
series because it's going to be, it's too long to be one documentary. Yes. Yeah. And I'm super excited about that. And I think I already know it's not even I think I know that as I pursue these documentaries, I learned so much too. And I'm excited to learn from other people.
Jen Porter (52:42)
Okay. And that gives you space to let it evolve too. And then what it wants to be. Wow.
Mm-hmm.
Bola Gbadebo (53:04)
And I love that people are learning about themselves in these interviews too.
Jen Porter (53:07)
Yeah.
What are you learning about yourself now?
Bola Gbadebo (53:12)
I want to learn how love better. ⁓
I think that I've learned to love the way a lot of people learn to love, which is with restraints and sometimes with markers of, I did this and I want reciprocity. And so love, my love is going to extend to as far as you love me. And truthfully, love is very sacrificial. And this goes back to my faith. I wanna love people the way God loves me. it,
Jen Porter (53:27)
Yeah. ⁓
Mm-hmm.
Bola Gbadebo (53:46)
I see it happening. It's a process that I even within the family, it starts with your closest relationships. How do you respond to your heart and your heartbreak? And I'm learning to respond with my presence, still remaining, still being there, still wanting to be a part of people's lives and not using their flaws or their mishaps against them because we're all imperfect. I'm learning the power of love and how much bigger it is than our imperfections.
Jen Porter (53:49)
to the
Hmm.
Wow, yeah, so much about that resonates with me because I am a person who wants to love well. It's really, really important to me to love people well. Sometimes I call it honoring people. I want to make people feel honored in everything that I do. I'm also thinking about this idea of perseverance and steadfastness as it relates to love. Because I think
Bola Gbadebo (54:41)
you
Jen Porter (54:45)
And it probably because I'm doing a lot of work with leadership all the time. It's, it's a lot. Most of my work is about professional endeavors. And so we're, you know, how do we be steadfast in our dream, in our mission, in our leadership, in our, know, whatever we're building professionally, but to use all of those characteristics and skill sets for love is really interesting.
Bola Gbadebo (55:13)
Mmm.
Jen Porter (55:15)
Like what if I took all of that resiliency and perseverance and put it toward, like I aimed it at love, loving those in my life, loving those I don't know.
Bola Gbadebo (55:30)
All I can say, I mean, just the thought of that is just so exciting to me. It's so mind blowing, but I think service would look so different. How we serve each other would be so beautiful. yeah. That is, yeah.
Jen Porter (55:49)
Wow, amazing. I can't wait to see your next documentary. How can people support you in the work and in your mission?
Bola Gbadebo (56:02)
Yeah, absolutely. But call to action for everyone. Olofilms.com is my website. I am currently looking for support in getting the equipment I want. A Sony FX3 camera. I want a couple of those. And I'm in the middle of assembling a crew because the first film was a one-woman band, which is great. But for the depth I want to capture and the intensity and the beauty.
Jen Porter (56:06)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (56:28)
And not for entertainment sake, but for true understanding. ⁓ need more equipment. I need the manpower. And so there's always that financial help that I can utilize. Just donations and sponsorship and such like that. ⁓ But yes, I am. I'm trying to capture true things happening in our community, true people. And it's really simple. I wish I had some deep like, ⁓ what are you really like? No, I just want to capture.
Jen Porter (56:43)
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's
deep.
Bola Gbadebo (56:58)
honesty
and empathy and connection.
Jen Porter (57:00)
I mean, you could spend a lifetime doing that.
Bola Gbadebo (57:02)
Yes, yes, and
I didn't even emphasize on on this part, but my hope I'm not there yet This is a new business for me But I want this to not just be a film because films they can have evergreen content Which means you can play them over and over but most people forget them within 48 hours. I want to have a call to action I want every film to end with a question and so
Aside from my differentiating aspect of having haikus in there, I do want each one to end with a question. Each question promotes some engagement in the community. So for the love film, for example, and this is small scale, but wouldn't it be nice to capture where people met in my community? And we're such a cute, small, quaint community that a lot of people know the same restaurants. They have their date nights at certain restaurants. And I wanted to create somewhat of a physical structure where they can pin.
Jen Porter (57:52)
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (57:57)
you know, like we met here and we met there. I will want this interaction. I want people to know people. ⁓ My grandeur ideas, which are much bigger than this is in time when I can do films in different countries. I want, for example, if I were to do a film in Uganda and say I'm following the life of, you know, high school girls or what their life is like, or young entrepreneurs who create a product, I want to bring those products back to my community. I want them to invest in them.
because it's benefiting these people over here and they're part of the story. I like this idea of engagement and it speaks to my whole cause of shared experiences. So that's, I want that connection.
Jen Porter (58:43)
It's beautiful. And, you know, I'm aware that you are who you are because of your experiences. And that being, you know, having the childhood that you had, you became who you are through that. You became a deep thinker. You became a deep feeler. You became a writer, you know, a storyteller, a lover of people in the world.
Bola Gbadebo (59:13)
Yeah. It's amazing how life works. Again, it's a series of little decisions, but I do think there are innate qualities in us that we are just who we are. You can develop it or we can be really immature in those qualities, but certain things I can't really even determine where it came from. I just know that I'm just going to develop it. I think my sensitivity towards other people and my empathy and my optimism, I didn't like wake up and choose to be optimistic.
Jen Porter (59:17)
It is.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Bola Gbadebo (59:42)
I think I just love people and it's driven so many of my decisions.
Jen Porter (59:49)
Incredible, beautiful. Thank you for sharing your story. So I want everybody to check out your documentary, Confidence. So go to bolafilms.com so Bola has set the price at a very reasonable price, super easy. And you can watch the documentary over and over. You're going to want to watch it more than once. So I definitely recommend that you buy it.
Bola Gbadebo (1:00:03)
That's it now.
Jen Porter (1:00:14)
and share it with your community, share it with the people that you love because these are vulnerable conversations that we don't have on our own without the help of prompts. And so I think some amazing discussions can come from watching the documentary and then go to BolaFilms.com to support the work that Bola is doing. ⁓ you know, I'm thinking if somebody is listening and feels inspired by your story and inspired by what you're doing in this
the bravery that you're taking to step out and do this work, they may want to give. so, you know, help get the equipment, help make more films possible in the docu-series. ⁓ So everybody check it out. Thank you so much for being here, Bola.
Bola Gbadebo (1:01:02)
Thank you for having me. I'm so blessed to be in a space where I can share my gift with others and invite them on the journey. So thank you for just creating this space.
Jen Porter (1:01:10)
Yeah, you're welcome, you're welcome. Okay, and if you wanna learn more about how to become a lioness and what it means to be in the lioness community, you can find out more at jenportercoach.com. And until the next episode, the lioness in me sees the lioness in you.
Creators and Guests
