Episode 53: Are You Stuck in the In-Between? The Truth About Endings and Emergence I Personal Branding Pacific Northwest

EPISODE SUMMARY

Have you ever felt completely lost in the space between who you were and who you’re becoming? Like you’re straddling two identities and beating yourself up because the transition isn’t happening fast enough?

In this raw and revelatory episode, host Kimberly Gayle shares the deeply personal story of selling her craft beer taphouse, Final Draft Taphouse, on October 1, 2025—and entering what she recently learned is called a “bardo,” the Tibetan Buddhist concept of the in-between state between endings and new beginnings.

This isn’t a polished, “here’s what I learned” episode. This is Kimberly IN the bardo (day 49 as she records), sharing the messy, beautiful truth about honoring transitions instead of rushing through them.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

The Ending

• Selling Final Draft Taphouse after eight years
• The hardest truth: recognizing the dream was no longer HER dream
• The grief of outgrowing something you once loved deeply
• How the business became a prison despite being something amazing
• The 30-day strategic pause and trips to the lake house and Sayulita

The Bardo (The In-Between)

• What the bardo is: the transitional state between death and rebirth
• Why the in-between is not a problem to fix—it’s a process to honor
• The gradual shift from grief → reflection → gratitude → clarity
• Feeling lighter, being able to breathe again, and coming back to presence
• Why anxiety is living in the future, and how this pause is bringing Kimberly back to now

The 2013 Mirror

• Kimberly’s corporate exit story: 11 years in PR/communications, corner office, but slowly disappearing
• The powerful moment of pulling herself out of a corporate job interview and choosing herself
• Creating the Adventures, Brews & Views blog and manifesto
• How that pause led to craft beer work, meeting her husband, and opening Final Draft Taphouse
• The lesson: The path appears when you pause, play, and trust

Therapy Insights & Self-Awareness

• Recognizing patterns of rescuing others and self-abandonment
• The realization of co-dependency and toxic relationship with work
• Getting worth from work and why that’s unhealthy
• Her therapist’s question: “Why do you recreate the same situation for yourself?”
• Staying too long in situations that aren’t aligned
• The need to think about money, contribution, and marriage differently

Play as the Path

• The realization that PLAY (not hustle) is what opened the path last time
• Losing playfulness during the Final Draft years
• What play looks like: creative pursuits, physical/spiritual activities, adventure, social connection
• Building the new business with play, ease, and flow instead of force and control
• Less grind, more growth. Less conditioning, more mindfulness.

Letting Go & Letting In

• Letting go of: doubt, fear, control, co-dependency, shame, bargaining, what she couldn’t fix
• Letting in: space, faith, playfulness, grace, truth, rest, knowing everything is working for her
• The quote: “The pause makes movement apparent, the silence makes all sounds more vivid, the end clarifies what we will now be beginning.”

Personal Branding as Emergence

• Personal branding is NOT about building from scratch
• It’s about EMERGING as who you’re becoming
• Your bold, authentic self isn’t missing—she’s just been hidden under conditioning
• The bardo is where the transformation happens

KEY QUOTE

“Death is connected to rebirth. The rupture of bardo inevitably leads to whatever is next. If we appreciate these successive deaths and rebirths in our lives, then we can value the bardo for what it is—the pause that makes movement apparent, the silence that makes all sounds more vivid, the end that clarifies what exactly we will now be beginning.”

THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE: HONOR YOUR BARDO

Step 1: Identify Your Bardo What are you ending right now? What old identity, role, or chapter are you letting go of? And what are you becoming? Write it down.

Step 2: Name What You’re Letting Go Of Make a list of everything you’re releasing in this transition. Fear. Control. The need to have it all figured out. The shame of staying too long. Write it all down and ceremonially release it (burn it, rip it up, let it go).

Step 3: Name What You’re Letting In Make a list of what you’re inviting into this new chapter. Play. Freedom. Rest. Ease. Alignment. Your truth. Write it down and put it somewhere you can see it every day.

Step 4: Find Your Play What does play look like for YOU? Do one playful thing this week. Just one. No pressure. No agenda. Just play.

Step 5: Share Your Bardo Story Share about your transition on Instagram. One truth about where you are. One thing you’re letting go of. One thing you’re letting in. Tag @kimberlygayleconsulting so Kimberly can cheer you on.

THIS WEEK’S MANTRA

“I trust the pause. I honor the in-between. I am emerging exactly as I’m meant to.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

In the next episode, Kimberly will be unveiling the name of her new consultancy, her full offerings, and her official launch. Newness is emerging—and you won’t want to miss it!