Danielle LaPorte

“Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?”
― Danielle LaPorte

Danielle LaPorte is a Canadian author, speaker, and entrepreneur known for her soulful and empowering approach to personal development. With a blend of spirituality, emotional intelligence, and practical wisdom, she encourages people to lead lives rooted in authenticity, compassion, and inner truth. Her work focuses on helping individuals align their goals with their core desires, rather than chasing external definitions of success.

LaPorte first gained widespread attention with her best-selling book The Desire Map, which reimagines traditional goal-setting by centring on how people want to feel, rather than what they want to achieve. This innovative framework has been embraced by life coaches, creatives, and spiritual seekers alike. She followed it with other popular titles like White Hot Truth and How to Be Loving, further solidifying her reputation as a thought leader in the self-help and wellness communities.

A key theme throughout her work is integrating heart-centred living with intentional action. LaPorte blends poetic insight with a sharp sense of clarity, often using personal stories and raw honesty to connect with her readers. She doesn’t shy away from life’s complexity—instead, she encourages self-compassion, shadow work, and a reevaluation of what it means to live a “good life.”

Beyond writing, LaPorte has built a digital platform that includes guided meditations, online courses, and a podcast, all focused on inner work and spiritual growth. She’s also a proponent of “conscious entrepreneurship,” promoting ethical business practices that reflect love and service.

Whether you're navigating a life transition, seeking more meaningful goals, or exploring spiritual growth, Danielle LaPorte offers a voice that is both grounding and inspiring. Her message is clear: true power comes not from striving harder, but from aligning more deeply with who you really are.

The Body Of Work

• The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul (2012)
  Her signature book, The Desire Map flips conventional goal-setting on its head by encouraging readers to start with how they want to feel and let those feelings drive their choices. It sparked a global movement and inspired a workbook, planner series, and workshops.

• The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms (2012)
  A blend of personal growth and entrepreneurial wisdom, this book empowers creatives and entrepreneurs to define success in a way that aligns with their inner truth.

• White Hot Truth: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path—from One Seeker to Another (2017)
  A brutally honest look at the self-help and spiritual growth industry, White Hot Truth encourages self-agency, discernment, and healing beyond dogma.

• How to Be Loving: As Your Heart Is Breaking Open and the World Is Waking Up (2022)
  This book explores radical self-acceptance, forgiveness, and living from the heart in a world that often encourages fear and division.

• The Desire Map Planner (Annual editions)
  These planners combine soul-driven goal setting with practical scheduling tools, making them ideal for those who want to align their everyday actions with their core desired feelings.

Other Works

• Audio Meditations & Courses: Including "Heart Centred Membership," “Core Desired Feelings,” and "Light Work."

• The Danielle LaPorte Podcast: Deep dives into emotional healing, spiritual practice, and soul-aligned living.

• Workshops & Trainings: Desire Map Facilitator programs and conscious leadership events.

Big Takeaways

1. Feelings First, Goals Second

Instead of setting goals just for external success, The Desire Map urges you to ask: "How do I want to feel?" Your core desired feelings become your compass. When you align your actions with those feelings, life becomes more fulfilling and authentic.

2. Success Should Feel Like Freedom

Danielle challenges the hustle mindset. True success, she says, isn’t about checking boxes—it’s about living with integrity, joy, and ease. If you’re pushing so hard that it feels soul-draining, you’re chasing the wrong kind of success.

3. Spiritual Growth Is Messy—and That’s Okay

In White Hot Truth, she calls out the perfectionism that can sneak into personal development. You don’t need to “fix” yourself constantly. Growth happens when you embrace your mess and love yourself through it, not in spite of it.

4. Lead with Love, Not Fear

Whether you’re in business, relationships, or activism, LaPorte believes in heart-centred leadership. Acting from love creates more connection, creativity, and real change than fear or control ever will.

5. Discernment Is a Spiritual Practice

Danielle encourages you to trust your inner wisdom, even when it goes against popular opinions or “expert” advice. Part of spiritual maturity, she says, is learning to filter teachings through your truth.