In conversation with: Lebo Lion

It is a rare occasion to come across one whose passion supersedes their appearance yet also even more in their articulation such that the words you constantly read by them suddenly come to life. When we finally spoke Lebo expressed that now that we have spoken it all seems so real now. I had no idea what I was in for but rest assured all of you reading this shall clearly see what a treasure this conversation turned out to be particularly to inspire you.

So who is LeboLion, Is lion her actual surname? She laughed when I asked this and expressed that it’s an alter ego (a powerful one I must say), making reference to how Queen B (not Bonang), Beyonce calls herself Sasha fierce, hence Lebo Lion. This made me think of how important it is to take care of the perspectives we have of ourselves, imagine if she had called herself Lebo dove, Lebo ant, that would have directly played into the approach she takes into things. A lion is the king of the jungle and below you will see how Lebo is kinging in this jungle.

Lebo is an accomplished woman who describes herself as a digital marketer, podcast host for Lessons with Lion and an SMME growth strategist, who is extremely passionate about the African continent in a meaningful way.

Being African queens passionate about Africa, we got into how exactly the African voice gets amplified into our day to day. Lebo showed me that being African goes beyond the look of it but it is deeply rooted in the essence of it. It’s not about the regalia, a person could wear African print fabrics all day everyday yet still not be Africa. The essence of it is being true to who you are, it’s about you on this continent, feeling free to wear your weaves and many other things because this does not make one African. “Being African is an essence not a look” –Lebo Lion

When I asked Lebo about purpose unsurprisingly her response was profound. She explained that you do not discover your purpose but your purpose discovers you.  Here’s what Lebo had to say to you reading this, “There is a huge sense on social media platforms that if you show something as a prominent feature, that then becomes your purpose. I was a different person 5 years ago from who I am now, there has been a lot I had to go through to get to where I am now. A lot of young people want to imitate a path, duplicate a look they see say on Instagram, that is not how it works, you have to constantly work on yourself, position yourself for your purpose to find you. I did not think I would be where I am today because I had a different path a few years ago but now here I am"

Being cognoscente of you reading this I know such encouraging words reflecting on Lebo’s journey can be the right push to some and scary to another. I then asked her about her journey, whether she’s ever felt she wasn’t good enough, or could not do something for one reason or another or even as far as being tempted to settle for less than what she is capable of.

She reflected on the importance of not falling for the Instagram glamour but looking at the background work that goes into what Instagram looks like. She then stated,

“It is important for the particular individual to understand that the most important thing when it comes to who the world sees is the internal work. I’ve been working at my dream for the past 10 years now and only got paid from this particular work only last year, only last year Grace” she said. “ I was a student and one day went to my parents told them I did not want to do it anymore and coming from a privileged home, privileged in the sense that I never had to worry about food when I was in varsity I had a car. My parents told me straight up that if I wanted to do my own thing I had to move out and start my own life. I went to take taxis for the first time during this season and it was so funny because I had never had to do that and the taxi drivers would be so frustrated with me because I’m black it did not make sense how I do not know.

But I pushed, so my advice is that it must be clear what you want and when you know it make it happen. Your purpose finds you in your passion. If you want to do anything great make sure that you allow your passion to help you fall into it”.

So what then happens once you’ve fallen into it, you get into starting out your journey somewhere along the line you may feel you are not as consistent as you used to be. What happens then? Lion had an interesting view on this once again, consistency she says is one of those concepts that are within the family of the 10 laws of success, things that worked for the past generation, formulations that truly worked however they are merely an ideal therefore cannot be the same for everyone.

“If you want to get to it make sure that you know and understand the nuances involved which means that your way of being consistent is always going to be different from another, be true to yourself do not try to be consistent like someone else as you are different and they are different too. Personally if I want to take 4 clients per month I do, if I want to take 20 that month then I have the energy for it.
Most importantly I stay true to myself. I have  podcasts in Africa about marketing which is a great achievement. This does not however mean I am under pressure to present a certain out-look, I see marketing specialists doing the most but I only do what I am comfortable with. Hence I say be authentic in your approach and do not try to do it like somebody else, at that you will certainly fail”.

Her final words to you were simple yet not lacking in the authority of a lion. Spoken like a queen in this jungle she says, “young people remember this, you are not special at all. There are tons of people with the skills you have, the capabilities you have. How-ever remember that you are UNIQUE. Do not fall for the facade that is put up on Instagram, do not fall for the plush luxuries that people seem to have. Their reality is more frightening than you think. For young women it would be honorable if you get into your own car and feel like I earned this, I am capable. Do not try to live a life you cannot afford, it is okay to say no, I did not go out to some places with my friends simply because I would plainly tell them I cannot afford. I was never afraid to state were exactly I stood but now I can afford to buy a new car if I want all fruits of hard-work. So be true to who you are”.