E125: The Timeline of My Highest Good: Lessons from the Road

What if everything you’ve been working toward isn’t about doing more—but about becoming more aligned?

In this episode of Kitchen Table Dreams: Founder’s Journal, Chef Kimberly I. Houston invites you into a heartfelt car conversation about growth, alignment, and access. After weeks on the road meeting industry leaders and speaking at major events, Kimberly reflects on how every version of herself led to this moment—and what it truly means to live in the “timeline of your highest good.”

Listen in as she shares:
 • Why alignment—not hustle—is the key to your next level.
 • How to audit who has access to you (and who you have access to).
 • The real reason doing more isn’t always the answer.
• How to turn what you’re great at into a sustainable solution for others.
• Why the company you keep determines the opportunities you attract.

If you’re a creative, a culinary entrepreneur, or someone navigating what’s next—this episode is a reminder that you don’t have to rush the process. You are already on the path to your highest good.

🎧 Listen now and realign with your next chapter.
💌 Subscribe to the Kitchen Table Dreams newsletter for weekly inspiration: https://kimberlyihouston.com/email

🌐 Explore Kimberly’s baking and business academies: https://teachmehowtobake.com

Transcript

Welcome back to the podcast friends. It has been an eventful couple of weeks. I have been on the road. I have met some industry giants. I've been inspired by people within the food space over the last couple of weeks. And it has been such a joy and an honor and a privilege to be in some of the rooms I've been in. And so while I was thinking about We missed our last podcast because you were on the road. What are we going to talk about? And I feel like maybe debriefing what my journey has looked like on the road would be helpful to those of you that are listening. Now, whether you are in the culinary field or you're just a creative entrepreneur, I think that this particular episode will be worth a listen. This is also one of those ones where I am in my car. And it's been a minute since I have done one a conversation from the car with Chef Kim. And so that's what we're gonna do today. So one of the things I was thinking about was access. So, you know, if I think about who I was five years ago compared to who I am right now, I'm a completely different person. The people who have access to me are very different. The people I have access to are very different. And someone asked me, like, would I change anything about my journey? And the answer to that is no, right? I don't think that we can push through or rush through any season of our life in order to get to the good stuff any faster. I think that you get to the good stuff when your heart and your mind are aligned with the good stuff, with that particular version of self. And here's why I say this. Let me see if I can break this down. So maybe three, four years ago, four years ago probably at this point, I was very, very intentional about aligning what the timeline of my highest good and what did that look like. And so I can remember when I first started talking about the timeline of my highest good, a lot of the people who were in my life historically who are Christian, who are very Kimberly Houston (02:19.597) into the church very religious and very anti anything other than the Bible had issues with that. And I remember there being a shift in me where I fully understood that being in the timeline of my highest good had nothing to do with the book. The timeline of my highest good had everything to do with the belief that I have in myself as well as the belief systems that I subscribe to. and how I am no longer doubting that I belong in certain spaces. I am not doubting that the intuition that I know that I have, I'm not doubting it. I'm not doubting my thoughts, my ideas, my dreams, my hopes. I'm not doubting those things because other people are placing their own limited beliefs upon me. And so I remember going through that season of my life and being like, okay, well this is gonna make or break me and now that we're on the other side of it this is just normal. I don't have to be quote-unquote intentional about choosing the timeline of my highest good. I'm in the timeline of my highest good, right? Do I think that I was always in it? I don't. I really don't. I think that there are versions of ourselves where we self-sabotage. I think that there are past versions of ourselves that many of us never want to go back to. And there are still versions of myself I have yet to meet that I'm excited to meet, that I'm excited to meet along this journey. And so I was having a conversation, maybe it was a week ago. So I went to a conference and one of the speakers that was supposed to be at the conference unfortunately did not make it to the conference. And so she had some breakout sessions at the conference that were then moved to a week later via Zoom. So me as a business coach, having a one-on-one conversation with another business coach is always a fun time, in my opinion. I love to get people's outside views of me. Kimberly Houston (04:29.771) people who don't know me who have no frame of reference. And when we have these discussions, magic typically happens and this was no different. And so one of the things that I took away from our conversation was I've done all the things, right? If you've listened to any iteration of this podcast, when it first started in 2020, it was the Baking Mama. Then it moved into the Positive Voice around March of 2021, 2022, probably 2022. And then this past March, we morphed one more time to Kitchen Table Dreams. In each iteration of this podcast, I have given mindset tips. I have given tips on my thoughts and ideas with love, my thoughts and ideas with relationships. I have given my thoughts and opinions on parenting and what it looks like when I was homeschooling my children and that transition out of that as my children got older. Like I've talked about a lot of things and one of the things that I've talked about a lot is doing the work. Aligning with the timeline of my high is good cut excuses out of my way, right? Like why? Am I not getting up and doing the things I know I need to do? I know that I need to have digital products. I know that I need to have physical products. I know that I need to have, you know, all these different things put in place in order for my business to be the multi-million dollar company that God Source Universe has shown me that it will be, right? And so I have been doing those things. I've been doing all of the things, right? Whenever people are, as I said at one of the conferences, we were talking about ways for people to increase their income, to diversify their income, to tap into new things. And they were like, you know, have online classes, have a membership, have eBooks, have cookbooks, like physical products, have a YouTube channel, have a dedicated space for your YouTube channel, like a studio. Kimberly Houston (06:56.778) take photography classes, have a space dedicated for that, right? So there were all these wonderful, wonderful things that were given, and I've done all of those things. Another thing that was brought up was, particularly in these trying times, right, as entrepreneurs, there may be times when you need to outsource the money, right? So that means you might have to get a job. And so it was like, get a job within your field. that's in direct alignment with where you're going. Well, I have a job in my field, a part-time job in my field on the corporate side of the baking industry in direct alignment with where I'm going, right? And so as she and I are having this conversation, she said, I was so excited to talk to you because you have everything. Like you have all of the things I would typically tell someone who was looking to expand their revenue streams. You have everything in place. All of these things are in order. Everything looks great. We've got the websites, we've got the branding, we've got the newsletters, we have the YouTube channels. Like we have all the things. And she said the only thing that is missing right now is a larger audience. Let me explain to you what that did to my brain. To go from thinking I need to do more, I need to do more, I need to do more, to hearing another expert tell me there's not really more you can do, more people just need to know you do what you do. I am very, very big on control the controllables. when we oftentimes, are, especially if you're a high achiever or an overachiever, we go through these phases of life where we're trying to produce more. And the reality is there's nothing more we need to produce in order for this harvest to happen in the way that it needs to happen. We've planted all the seeds. We've tended the garden. We've done the things. We need more people to help us in the harvest. And that is where I find myself. Currently, Kimberly Houston (09:17.29) is more people just need to know I exist. More people need to know that I have an online academy, I have a business academy, and I also have a baking academy for novice bakers. More people need to know that there is a YouTube channel that teaches you how to bake. More people need to know there's a website. that teaches you how to bake. There's a website that helps you invite your kids into the kitchen called Kitchen Fun with Kids. People have to know that these are things that are available to them. One of the things that she brought up was the fact that I have an entire website for selling content. And I do, I don't talk about it very often. I think when I first started doing this five years ago, it was a little taboo for bloggers to say that they purchase content. They're not making it all themselves. But the thing that I've come to learn and realize is people who are making money don't necessarily have time to be in their kitchen doing things. And if you can outsource that, then why would you not outsource that? Particularly when you can get professional recipe development done by a chef who is also an incredible food photographer, right? Like I saw a need in the industry, and I'm not the only person who does this. But I very specifically saw a need in the baking industry and decided to fill in the gap. And so, yes, I have an entire website where you can literally, it's a Shopify store. You can just go purchase and download good quality content where you have the rights to the photos and you can take those things and put them inside of cookbooks. You can put them in an ebook. Like you have the rights to those things. you use it however you want to. I just created the really pretty thing for you. I gave you the instructions and you go do what you need to do with that content. So if we're thinking about this, what is it that you do and you do well that would solve a need for other people? As I am doing my job, one of the things like when I'm Kimberly Houston (11:30.534) working for the Retail Bakers Association of America doing my job. When I'm out in the field, one of the things I hear a lot of people talk about is we don't have time for social media. We don't have time to set up and take really great photos. We don't have time to edit these things. We don't have time to come up with the content. We don't have time to create an e-book because we don't have time to take the photos because we don't have time to be in the kitchen to play with recipe development. And I was like, I have a shop where you can just buy all those things. All right. And so as I began telling people that, they were like, didn't even know that was a thing. It is. What is something that you're really, really good at that you can turn into a solution for other people? That's the first question that I have for you, right? Well, we're thinking about how do we stand out, particularly in this time where so many people are losing their jobs or they don't know when they're going to get paid or they're furlough government employee. or their SNAP benefits just got cut off. I wholeheartedly empathize and sympathize with those people. I know what that feels like. I know what it feels like not to have a paycheck coming in steadily. I know what it feels like when your SNAP benefits don't show up. There is a version of me that has lived that life. And I did not forget what that felt like once I made it to the other side. But the way that I got to the other side was, I had to do things that allowed me to progress into the version of me that I am still yet becoming. And so as you're thinking about how can I solve a gap in the market? How can I solve an industry wide problem? Think about things you do really well and then go create the solution. All right. So that's one of those things that became really, really prevalent for me over the last couple of weeks. Another thing was the company that you keep will 100 % be a part of the timeline of your highest good. What does that mean? So I spoke at one of the largest baking industry expo events. I also worked it. And while I met a lot of people while I was at this event, the most meaningful relationships came from Kimberly Houston (13:57.683) my friends introducing me to people they met. And I started thinking about that, like, wow, I have access to all these people that they just introduced me to. Like, I can very easily go in our system and get their information. But that's not a personal introduction, right? There's nothing like a referral. And so for my friends to be introducing me to people with, like, they're talking about me and I'm not even in the room. They're talking about my children's baking curriculum and I'm not even in the room so much so that these people are like, I need to meet this person. Are they here? And they're like, absolutely. We'll take you to go meet them. And so now I'm having conversations with people who have major influence, who have very large platforms, who are interested in learning about my book. Right. I have met with companies who are interested in carrying my book on their websites, brands who want to partner with me to help promote this book because as an educator and a homeschool mom who put her all into this curriculum, this also helps those brands look good, right? And so, but I wasn't the one making the introductions. I wasn't the one doing the phone calls. This came from my friends. So the second thing I want to say is what about your friends? Have you audited the people who have access to you lately? Do the people who have access to you also know what you do where they can talk about that when you're not in the room? Are your friends speaking your names to people with influence who can actually take you to the next level? That's something I would encourage you to think about and look into. another one of the things that happened while I was out on the road. was a deep understanding of self. So I have learned a lot about myself this year, particularly with travel. I've been doing a lot of travel over the last couple of months and still have quite a bit to go throughout the rest of the year. But I've learned about who I am as a traveler. There are things that, you know, when I think about my very first trip out of town, I had all these things that kind of weighed me down in a sense, you know. Kimberly Houston (16:19.653) I'm gonna take everything, because I don't know what I'm gonna need to now having a travel bag packed and ready to go at all times. I know exactly what I need to take with me. I know how much I'm actually gonna do things on the road. I now know and understand that I'm not gonna be a workaholic if I'm working on the road, right? There's a time and a place for that and my body has become trained. to show up in a way that we need to show up in order for us to preserve our energy because peopleing takes a lot out of me. And so I've learned that like if I have to be on a stage or if I have to be around a lot of people for eight to 12 hours a day, there is no way I'm coming back to my hotel room and working on my computer. There is no way I'm writing a blog post. There is no way I'm sending a newsletter. And so I understand those things about myself and I've adjusted accordingly and that was something that was a really big deal for me because previously I tried to be everything to everybody and do it all and then I learned that nothing about that made any sense for me and I don't want to do it all. Nothing about me wants to do it all. And so I would say for you, as you are thinking about who you are, who you're becoming, who you want to be, as you're thinking about that, I need you to know and understand that realistically our world is changing. The world that we live in is not the world that our parents raised us to live in. I say that all the time, that like the world I was raised to live in does not exist. And so we are now having to figure things out on the fly. This is very much so on the job training. There's no way around it. And if I'm honest, it's okay, right? Like it is super okay for us to acknowledge that sometimes we don't have the answers and sometimes it doesn't make sense. And sometimes it feels like we're just kind of making this issue up as we go, right? Kimberly Houston (18:36.537) That's okay. That's a sign of a great innovator. Being curious is what is going to help us get through these next couple of years. Being curious and open to discovering who we are as individuals as opposed to the group think of society is going to be important. If you need to do a social media fast, I would encourage you to do so. All of my social media content has been curated. When people say I built this FYP brick by brick, I am one of those people. It is nothing but positivity. It is rainbows and unicorns. is business minded. is, you know, highest self minded. It is a foot still in reality, but most of me is really just imagining what I can be and what I'm becoming. And here's why I say that. I understand and know that right now it kind of feels like the world is on fire, right? If you are someone who watches the news constantly, I would encourage you not to. But if you are someone who does that, you may feel anxious. You may feel some anxiety around it. And while that's normal, it's not normal the amount of anxiety that we have all been experiencing since 2020. And so if you find yourself listening to this podcast right now, like, well, chef kill. I mean, this all sounds great. It sounds wonderful that like you figured it out and you know what you're doing with your life. But I don't know if that's going to work for me. Here's what I want you to know and understand. I didn't always feel this way either. I didn't always have an answer. I didn't always know what to do. And what I decided to do was de-center others and center myself. Once I began to center myself and come home to myself, I read a book called Homecoming by Dr. Tamar Bryant. Incredible book, but the book is called Homecoming and it is about coming home to yourself, abandoning whatever other people say you should be. Kimberly Houston (20:51.491) what other people imagined you to be and how you tap back into yourself. That book is an incredible, incredible opportunity to invite yourself to come home. So if that's where you are at this phase of your life, highly recommend listening to that book or reading that book. And just know that the, through every crisis, through every century that has been war written and genocide written and these other things that are happening. People have still thrived. People have still made millions and billions. People have still been happy. People have still lived a beautiful life. And the reason that that happens is because those people have come home to their self. So thank you so much for listening to this car conversation. I hope it is helpful. Hopefully I'm not just rambling all over the place, but I hope it is helpful for you. I that it encourages you. to know that there is a better way, that it encourages you to know you don't have to have all the answers right now. And it encourages you to believe in yourself and the intuition that the source has given you in order for you to be able to succeed as a creative entrepreneur this day and age. Until next time, stay sweet friends.