Story & Lesson Highlights with Octavia Traylor of Locust Grove

Octavia Traylor shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Octavia , we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
I’m being called to fully walk in my purpose, out loud, unfiltered, unapologetically. No more shrinking. No more hiding my gifts behind fear or doubt. I’m being called to be seen, be heard, and be impactful in rooms I once felt unqualified to enter.

I used to be scared of what people would think. Of not being enough. Of failing publicly.
But now? I know that what scares me is usually what shapes me.

I’m being called to:

Speak up when I used to stay silent.

Build what I used to only daydream about.

Pour into women the way I wish someone had poured into me.

Launch the vision, send the pitch, leave the comfort zone.

Show up as her, Octavia, healed, whole, and hell-bent on making heaven proud.

And even though fear still whispers sometimes, faith got a louder voice now.

I’m not just called. I’m chosen. And I’m finally ready to answer.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello, everyone. I’m Octavia Traylor, but many know me as Boss Ladi or TraylorMade by O.S.T. I’m a content creator, author, speaker, digital brand strategist, and the heart behind Bible, Baddies & Boundaries. A growing sisterhood and movement helping women reclaim their crowns spiritually, emotionally, and boldly.

I turned my pain into purpose and my story into a brand. After surviving domestic abuse, toxic relationships, financial hardship, and deep emotional valleys, I found healing through faith, therapy, creativity, and sisterhood. Now I use my platforms to teach women how to glow through what they go through, while building a profitable, purpose-driven brand along the way.

My brand is deeply personal but wildly universal, I’m proof that you can rebuild from nothing, rewrite the narrative, and still believe in love, God, and generational wealth. I’m a mama, a dreamer, a spiritual powerhouse, and a digital hustler creating eBooks, retreats, AI-powered content, motivational tools, and now, a full storytelling empire.

Right now, I’m working on expanding my merch, books and hosting faith-based retreats for women, and growing the Bible, Baddies & Boundaries Inner Circle, where I blend scripture with real-life healing and baddie energy.

Whether I’m in my Sisterhood Community Skool or on TikTok, leading a prayer call at 5AM, or helping women turn trauma into transformation, just know I’m walking proof that broken crayons still color, and your glow-up doesn’t require perfection, just obedience and boldness.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Whewww, Lol, great question. In my experience, unspoken pain, unmet expectations, pride, and poor communication are the silent assassins of connection. It’s not always betrayal or big blowups; it’s the slow fade. The “I’m fine” when you’re not. The assumptions. The lack of accountability. The unwillingness to see someone else’s heart beyond your own hurt.

And honestly? Sometimes we outgrow the version of people we first bonded with. When healing happens in one person but not the other, that gap can turn into a wall.

But you know what restores the bond? Putting God first and truly going before him and asking for forgiveness, the strength, and love to rebuild. Heartfelt apologies on both parts. Shared healing. Grace. Vulnerability. And the choice to see each other again, not as who we were, but as who we’re becoming.

Love can’t survive without humility. Relationships, whether romantic, family, or sisterhood, thrive on intentional repair. You gotta want to do the work. You gotta want to reach across the silence and say, “Let’s try again… differently this time.”

At the end of the day, what breaks us is usually what we won’t talk about. And what heals us, is when we finally do.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
The moment I realized my silence wasn’t protecting me, it was paralyzing me.

For years, I wore strength like armor, but underneath it. I was tired. I was broken. I was surviving instead of living. I smiled in public but cried in private. I led in love but neglected myself. But God wouldn’t let me stay hidden.

My breaking point became my birthing point.
And that’s when I wrote my book Reclaiming My Crown: Becoming the Boss I Needed was born.
I wrote every page through tears, prayers, and deep reflection. That book wasn’t just a project; it was a lifeline. A declaration. A decision to stop letting my pain bury me and start letting it build me.

And from that book came the Bible, Baddies & Boundaries sisterhood, a safe space for women like me who’ve been through hell but still want healing. Who love God and believe in boundaries. Who’ve been silenced by trauma but are ready to speak from testimony.

So, no, I didn’t stop feeling pain.
But I stopped hiding it.
And now I use it to remind other women:
You can be bruised and still beautiful.
You can lose everything and still be chosen.
You can rise again, with a crown on your head and purpose in your hands.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
They’d say I care deeply about purpose, people, and peace. They know I don’t play when it comes to my kids, my calling, or my connection to God. I’ve been through too much to waste time on surface-level anything. My circle would tell you I’m big on growth, loyalty, and legacy; I want to see the people I love win, heal, and become everything God called them to be.

They’d also say I show up for folks. I might be going through my own storm, but if someone I care about needs me. I’m pulling up, spiritually, emotionally, or even just to drop a prayer and a word of encouragement. What matters to me is impact over image, truth over trends, and building something that my sons, my sisters, and even strangers can be inspired by. I care about helping women heal and be seen, because I know what it feels like to suffer in silence. That’s why I started the Bible, Baddies & Boundaries sisterhood. That’s why I wrote Reclaiming My Crown.

So yeah, my friends would say: Tavi don’t just talk about it, she turns her pain into purpose and helps others do the same. And she gon’ pray over you, hype you up, and hold you accountable, all in the same breath. 💜👑

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I can confidently say: I’m finally doing what I was born to do.

But it took me a while to get here. I had to stop running, stop doubting, and fully surrender to God. Once I gave Him my full “yes”, not the halfway kind, but the even-if-it-hurts kind, that’s when everything shifted.

I’m walking in my purpose scared sometimes. Uncertain. Broke some days. But I’m still walking. Because I’m no longer living by what makes sense, I’m living by faith. And if God is for me, who can be against me?

I know everyone won’t understand my vision.
They weren’t supposed to. It wasn’t given to them, it was given to me. And I’ve learned that just because it’s unfamiliar to others doesn’t mean it’s not ordained by God. So no, I’m not living by what I was told to do. I’m living by what I was called to do. And that call? That’s what wakes me up, fuels me, and keeps me going, even when life tries to knock me off course.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.skool.com/bible-baddies-boundaries-7633/about?ref=70323d2fef684bc8b92224fa3cb38fb9
• Instagram: @biblebaddiesboundaries
• Youtube: @biblebaddiesboundaries
• Other: Tiktok: @biblebaddiesboundaires
  Lemon8: @iamtraylormade