Beginning Again
By Mrs M
What starts as a dream can sometimes grow into a calling, and for Nokuphila, her podcast is proof of that. In this conversation, she speaks openly about trusting God with her platform, learning to balance preparation with Spirit-led moments, and the lessons she’s carried from her corporate career into her creative work.
From navigating imposter syndrome to seeing fashion, media, and ministry as tools for impact, her story is one of faith, resilience, and finding purpose in every season.
I watch a lot of podcasts on YouTube and it’s something that I have always wanted to do. Growing up, I wanted to be Miss Swaziland and Bonang Matheba was my biggest role model. Looking back, I think God was planting a seed of the woman I would grow up to be.
Not necessarily the next Miss Eswatini
but to find my place in the entertainment industry (which has now evolved into
content creation).I started interviewing people on my YouTube channel 3 years
ago and stopped. It first started as a desire that I believe grew into a push
from God.
I always aim to bring relatable people on my podcast. It’s very important for me to bring someone that aligns with my values because at the end of the day it’s really all about God. I never really know much about my guests until I sit down and have a conversation with them. I think everyone has a story to tell, a story that might motivate the next person.
Trusting God for guests has been the most challenging part of my journey. It’s very difficult to convince people to come because of the controversial reputation that podcasts have. I have really had to have faith because there’s no podcast without guests.
God is enough and He is able to become anything that you need Him to be at any point of your life. I also want people to know that in most cases, there is someone else that is going through the very same challenges that they are facing. No one is ever alone even though sometimes it feels like that.
I have felt the Holy Spirit moving in most of the episodes because most of the time we don’t even use the script. I think one episode that I constantly listen to is my episode with Bongiwe. It’s very in line with the current season of my life.
6. What’s one episode that surprised you or deeply changed your own perspective?
My episode with Bongiwe liberated me to believe that God has created me to be 'Phila'not to fit a Christian woman stereotype and church expectations. It liberated me to live life without feeling like I’m walking on eggshells. It’s still a work in progress though.
I recently started structuring my conversations with basic pillars on what my interview with each person is going to be about. It’s very important and it puts the guest at ease.
However, sometimes during the conversation we lose the script because I feel led to ask certain questions about a specific topic. My podcast is a conversation more than it is an interview so conversations are bound to organically flow.
I enjoy both sides of my YouTube career. I think they both bring out different sides of me and I feel like I’m in my element. Podcasting just fulfills something deep within me and vlogs are just fun for me to do because I love talking.
It’s an extension because growing a YouTube channel from scratch is difficult. I would have loved to separate the two but I think they balance each other out for now.
I try to be myself during interviews, it’s very difficult because sometimes imposter syndrome tries to creep in and tries to make me believe that if I acted like my favorite podcasters then the podcast will gain momentum even quicker. I overcome these thoughts by praying. I just stay in pray about the podcast and I pray for myself.
I absolutely love my rants on my Instagram stories. I talk about a lot of things there. I am more careful on vlogs and podcast episodes. I really enjoy the engagement every time a new podcast episode drops. The DMs and conversations that they spark make it all worth it.
I am still struggling with being vulnerable on public platforms. I used to be very vulnerable when I was still starting out because I wanted to be relatable. As I grow I feel like at some point the time will come when I share a more vulnerable side of me. But for now, I don’t want my story to be in the forefront of what my content is about. I don’t think it’s about me.
Our anchor scripture is Ephesians 2:8-9 that talks about salvation as a gift from God. It further goes on to say that there is nothing we can do to deserve salvation but it is through His grace. 2 Corinthians 12:9 assures us that God’s grace is sufficient for us.
It is by the grace of God that I am even able to create faith based content. I always ask my guests about how they got saved and managed to cultivate a relationship with God.
Everyone has a different narrative about the same God and the same salvation, further proving that God is able to meet everyone at their point of need.
Yes I do struggle with imposter syndrome. To be honest it’s very difficult to ignore the metrics, especially when you’ve been creating content for some time. When I’m feeling discouraged, I pray about it and talk to my friends about it. They have played a very pivotal role in encouraging me even when I felt like giving up.
I am trusting God to use my platform as a healing platform. There’s something about sharing testimonies that provides a beam of hope to someone that is in a very dark place.
In as much I would love for my platform to grow beyond the boarders of Eswatini. It would be fulfilling to give EmaSwati permission to heal and expose them different people in the country that looked beyond unfavorable circumstances to create a better lives for themselves.
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16. Your background in finance is so dynamic how has your corporate journey shaped your mindset around discipline, stewardship, or purpose?
I had an industry job before I ventured into corporate. The experience that I got during my time with that company really aligned and shaped my mindset around discipline, stewardship and purpose.
One of the principles that I live by is “You can’t fail if you don’t quit” ask accountants about Reconciling bank statements. You have no choice but to find a way to make the accounts balance.
I have adopted that mentality with my YouTube channel. I may take breaks but I will start again until I feel like I’ve achieved everything that I have always wanted to achieve through the channel.
I have learnt how to find purpose in everything that I do, every relationship, every conversation and every interaction. Treating everyone with respect is very important because we all need each other.
To be honest, I do not rest. In between my corporate job, being a creative, running a business and my personal life, it’s challenging. Being a creative comes naturally to me, being in front of the camera is refreshing. I thank God that I’ve managed to delegate the shooting and editing part of my podcast to Birth Media. They make creating content very seamless for me. Everything else is held together by God to be honest.
Do it scared! But be conscious about what you share on the internet. Use discernment to determine which parts of your faith journey you are ready to share.
It gets better with time and age. As you grow older, the challenges that you are facing right now will become insignificant. Always hold onto the assurance that one day you will look back and laugh about what you consider your greatest challenge right now.
22. What’s next for your podcast and what can listeners look forward to in the upcoming season?
Our listeners can anticipate more episodes through out the year. Our aim is cover a whole range of topics and they should stay tuned to my YouTube channel.
Follow and keep up with Nokphila here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phila_m_?igsh=MXYyaWwwNzk3NW0zYQ==
Podcast page :https://www.instagram.com/begin_again_podcast?igsh=MWQzb3NvYzg2bzIzbQ==
YoTube: https://youtube.com/@nokuphilamalinga?si=bp55-phMb3dEqU_1
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