We recently connected with Dani Garner and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dani thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

One of the most painful and transformative failures in my journey happened after I walked away from a 16-year teaching career. In 2015, I left the classroom for good. I had spent most of my life nurturing children’s growth, guiding their curiosity, and trying to create spaces where learning felt sacred. But something inside me had started to ache—a creative fire I couldn’t ignore. So I leaned into what I had: self-taught graphic design skills, a knack for storytelling, and a passion for wellness. I started building flyers and ads for small businesses, slowly stepping into the unknown world of entrepreneurship.

By 2018, I had learned about niching and had an aha moment: “What if my lifestyle is my niche?” That led me to the cannabis space—specifically, the intersection of plant medicine and holistic wellness. And in 2019, I thought I had found my people. A business partner and I were building a retreat brand called Soil to Soul, designed to bring plant-based healing, education, and ceremony together in a powerful container. I branded the whole thing from scratch—logos, website, event strategy, vendor systems, the whole experience.

But there were red flags. Little manipulations. Boundary-testing. Power plays disguised as “business decisions.” I ignored them all. I told myself, “Just get to the finish line.” I was so focused on the end goal that I abandoned every gut instinct along the way.

And then it all collapsed. She took $10,000 in capital meant for the event and ghosted. She threw me under the bus with a client we were both working with. And just like that—everything I had built was gone.

I was devastated. Not just by the betrayal, but by the realization that I had been so desperate to “make it” that I’d sacrificed my voice, my boundaries, my discernment. I spiraled. I raged. I cried for days. And I questioned everything: Was I too naive to be in business? Was I always going to be the one who got used? Was I even meant to lead?

But here’s what that failure taught me:

It taught me to listen to my body. Every red flag I had ignored had registered in my nervous system. I just wasn’t trained to honor it yet.

It taught me to pause before partnership. I stopped rushing to align with people out of urgency or validation and started vetting values instead of visions.

And most importantly, it taught me to create from my center—not from my wounds. Before that moment, I was trying to earn success. Now, I create from embodiment.

That breakdown became the doorway to the book I’ve just finished writing—”You’re not broken, You’re bored”—a kind of soul manifesto for women like me who’ve outgrown the performance and are ready to come home to their own truth. That failure didn’t just humble me—it matured me. It changed how I move in rooms, how I run my business, how I lead myself, and how I protect the sacredness of my creative process.

So was it a failure? Yes. But it was also the moment I stopped outsourcing my worth—and that will always be one of the biggest wins of my life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

About Me, My Work & The SouLife Brand

Hi, I’m Danielle Garner — a self-taught creative, lifelong educator, spiritual rebel, and the founder of SouLife: a movement, a methodology, and a multimedia brand that helps people reconnect with their child self through play, quantum perspective, and nervous system reset—so they can finally live like they belong to themselves.

I began my professional life in the classroom. For 16 years, I worked as a Montessori teacher, learning the power of rhythm, wonder, and child-led discovery. But in 2015, I walked away with nothing but a laptop and a deep ache to create. I had no art degree. No safety net. Just an obsession with Photoshop and a hunger to turn feeling into form.

I started saying yes to anything creative — flyers, logos, packaging, small biz ads. I taught myself everything: Adobe, Canva, InDesign, social strategy, packaging specs, copywriting, storytelling, and event branding. I learned through immersion and iteration — and eventually became the go-to designer for dozens of cannabis and wellness entrepreneurs, all of whom felt like misfits in the traditional world of business.

After three years of grinding, failing, and figuring out how to think like an entrepreneur instead of an employee, I had a breakthrough. I realized my lifestyle was my niche — that cannabis, spirituality, storytelling, and creative freedom weren’t separate from business… they were the future of it.

That revelation sparked everything.
I started helping entrepreneurs in plant medicine and wellness build brands rooted in authenticity and soul. I didn’t just “make things pretty”—I helped people translate their vision into sensory, story-driven experiences that emotionally connect. I started designing not just logos and labels, but immersive brand identities, launch kits, and event campaigns that felt like portals to a better world.

Today, I still work with clients as a creative director, event producer, and brand storyteller, especially in the spaces of sacred wellness, spiritual entrepreneurship, education, and natural product-based businesses. I offer:

Creative services (design, packaging, storytelling, sales sheets, social assets, launch kits)

Product development consulting (custom formulations, white label support, creative manufacturing)

Event support (flyers, social content, sponsorship decks, ceremony language, retreat branding)

Content and education (original books, journals, oracle cards, podcasting, online classes)

Art and ritual products (kaleidoscopic prints, surrealist oracle decks, aromatherapy, gratitude tools)

SouLife experiences — retreats, play-based adult journaling events, art walks, and self-expression workshops

The common thread?
Everything I make is designed to feed the soul.
To awaken wonder. To give people permission to feel more alive.

What Sets Me Apart

I didn’t learn this stuff in a classroom — I built it from scratch.
I’m a self-taught designer, a rebel educator, and a former perfectionist who had to unlearn everything she was taught about success. I’ve lost businesses. Been burned by partners. Lived the full arc of “doing everything right” and still feeling empty. But I never gave up. I turned my breakdowns into creative blueprints.

What sets me apart is that I don’t just talk about creative healing — I live it.
I’m not here to pitch hustle culture. I’m here to build a sacred rebellion.
Through SouLife, I show women how to live with soul again.
How to reconnect with joy, with spirit, with play.
How to stop outsourcing their aliveness.
How to express without performing.
How to remember who the hell they are.

What I’m Most Proud Of

I’m proud that I’ve created everything I offer without a roadmap.
I’m proud that my daughter watches me create a life that doesn’t require permission.
I’m proud that I teach the way I wish someone had taught me — with honesty, color, and awe.

I’m especially proud of my Original Gratitude Journal, a 120-prompt guided experience that goes way beyond gratitude lists. It includes creative art invitations that help people rewire their nervous system and remember what it feels like to be present, not performative. It’s for the people who want to feel different—without faking it.

And I’m proud of my upcoming book:
You’re Not Bored, You’re Broken: A Sacred Rebellion of Living a SouLife
It’s not a self-help book—it’s a soul spark.
A sacred permission slip. A wake-up call. A new lens.
It helps women unhook from perfectionism, reclaim their joy, and get real about what’s actually weighing them down.

What I Want You to Know

If you’ve felt stuck even after “doing the work”…
If you’re multi-passionate and people have told you that’s a flaw…
If you’re craving meaning but not sure where to start…
SouLife is for you.

My mission is to feed the +Algorithm — to create a world where art, music, movement, story, and sacred silliness are how we grow, not just heal.

I’m not building a brand.
I’m building a frequency.
And you’re already tuned in.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Freedom is at the core of everything I create, both for myself and for the people I work with. I don’t just mean the motivational poster kind of freedom. I mean time freedom. Creative freedom. Soul freedom.

After 16 years as a Montessori educator, I walked away from the classroom because I wanted to stop asking for permission to live a life that actually fit me. I wanted to build a reality where I could design in the morning, dance in the afternoon, take my parents to the doctor without guilt, and write a book from anywhere—even by a hut in the ocean. That’s what freedom means to me! having time to choose what matters, and the tools to shape that into something real.

That mission shows up in two major ways. Personally, I help people reconnect to their child self—the part of them that still knows how to play, imagine, and express without needing to earn it. I use language, journaling, nervous system work, and quantum perspective to help people shift from performance to presence. My books, writing prompts, and creative tools are designed to help people come back to life—not through pressure, but through remembering.

Professionally, I support soul-led and wellness-based entrepreneurs by helping them express their essence through brand development, marketing campaigns, website identity, packaging, and more. I don’t just “do graphics.” I co-create. The businesses I work with choose me not just for my skill set—but for my style, voice, and vision—because it speaks to who they are and what they’re building. It’s freedom of expression—for them and for me.

That’s the mission. To create a life where I can be fully myself—and help others do the same. Whether that’s through art, story, design, or breathwork, it all comes down to the same thing: living like your soul is actually in charge.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, it’s two things: pride in the final result—and the moment someone says, “That’s exactly what I didn’t know I needed.”

There’s something deeply satisfying about bringing an idea to life- especially when it didn’t exist at all before. Whether it’s a piece of writing that unlocks emotion, a flyer that captures a vibe, or a brand that finally feels aligned for someone, there’s magic in turning the invisible into something real.

But the most rewarding part? It’s when someone feels seen because of it. When they pause and say, “Yes! that’s me.” Or when a reader messages me and says, “Your words said what I couldn’t explain.” Or when a client gets a design back and says, “You just got it.” It means I listened deeper than the brief. I felt what they meant even if they didn’t have the words. I love anticipating needs they didn’t articulate yet- and delivering something that makes them feel more like themselves.

That level of intuitive creation isn’t just about talent—it’s about trust, empathy, and deep presence. And that’s what keeps me coming back: not just making things look good, but making people feel understood.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.danigarner.com and www.theartofdani.com
• Instagram: @patchoulimomma420
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patchoulimomma
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgcreative00
• Other: Tiktok is where we have the most fun! tiktok.com/@patchoulimomma

Image Credits

Blunt Brunch Adelia Carrillo and Parisa Rad
The Psychedelic Institute Paul Karasik