Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leslie Potter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Leslie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?
As a young girl growing up in Mississippi, I always envisioned myself as a mother with a house filled with children. However, life had different plans for me. As the years passed, I found myself at 44, still single, with my childhood dream seemingly out of reach. Yet, despite the passage of time, my longing to be a mother hadn’t diminished—if anything, it had grown stronger, becoming an undeniable force in my life.
The path to motherhood wasn’t straightforward for me. I grappled with intense fears and doubts. Could I really do this? What if I couldn’t handle being a single parent? What if I was too old? But beneath these fears, a wellspring of courage was building. After much soul-searching and preparation, I made a life-changing decision: to adopt a child from China as a single mother. This choice wasn’t just about fulfilling my dream; it was about opening my heart in ways that not only gave my daughter a new loving home it changed the path of my career as well.
The journey to meet my daughter took me halfway across the world. As I boarded the plane to China, I felt a mix of excitement, nervousness, and anticipation. Little did I know that this trip would not only bring me my child but would also unlock a new passion in my life—a dedication to being the best mother I could possibly be. As the nanny handed me my precious daughter I felt as if my heart was going to explode. She quickly stuck out her tiny tongue as if to say “don’t take this too seriously mom” and vaulted into my waiting arms, never looking back, and our unimaginable journey began. In that moment, I knew that my life had irrevocably changed for the better. As I grew and learned I was inspired to share my journey with other parents and created Purejoy Parenting. Supporting other parents to be the best parent they can be has been such a gift over the last 20 years.
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.
I am a trained therapist, yet when I adopted my daughter, my curiosity and main focus shifted to parenting. As my daughter grew, I encountered many parents struggling with their identities as parents. Growing up in a traditional home meant I had a parenting template based on consequences and punishment, and I was determined to find another way. My people-pleasing and deference to others were early strategies that worked when I was a child, but as a parent, they prevented me from setting healthy personal boundaries. Instead, the old template suggested my daughter’s behavior was the source of my suffering, so my job was to control her, shielding myself from the pain beneath those early strategies. Delving deeper into my internal experience, I realized it wasn’t my job to control her behavior but to treat myself with kindness. In Purejoy, the definition of a healthy boundary is “what is OK with me and what is not OK with me regarding how I treat myself, not how others treat me.” With this new insight in hand I was able to view my daughter from a different lens and found when I took care of my own emotional needs I could show up for her to create an emotionally safe environment.
All of these discoveries led me to offer Puejoy coaching to other parents. Through one-on-one coaching, small groups, and parenting courses, I created a community of parents seeking to update their early parenting templates to a more conscious one that supports everyone in the home feeling emotionally safe. As the work deepened and increased there was a strong interest for a training to be a Purejoy Parent Coach. This led to the Purejoy Parent Coach Certification where through an 8 month program I guide folks towards being a parent coach and creating a business that supports them doing what they love.
What sets me apart from others is my ability to sit with parents and support them in exploring their early behavioral strategies, which were smart as young children. (e.g people pleasing) Unfortunately, if these strategies aren’t updated, they create guilt and shame, leading parents to avoid setting healthy boundaries for themselves and instead they fall back on trying to control their child’s behavior. To achieve this, they often rely on fear, but in Purejoy we choose to turn towards ourselves with love offering kindness to those “younger” parts of us and therefore we can see the innocence in our child’s behavior. Instead of correcting them we connect with ourselves first attending to our emotional needs. From a neutral stance we are able to create the environment of understanding and guidance and teach the practical behavioral skills needed in life.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
The most valuable training and knowledge I’ve gained in my field stem directly from my experiences as a parent. I’ve always felt an innate drive to share the insights and lessons I’ve learned with others, and becoming a parent laid the groundwork for creating my parent coaching business. Even with my background as a trained therapist, nothing could have fully prepared me for the myriad daily challenges that parenting presents. I believed that my age, accumulated wisdom, and extensive years spent in therapy and spiritual practice would enable me to handle these challenges effortlessly. However, the reality was quite different, as I found myself emotionally triggered on a daily basis. Yet, due to my steadfast commitment to a new parenting approach, I chose to take complete responsibility for my internal experiences. This unwavering drive motivated me to develop practical processes, through Purejoy, that parents can regularly utilize.
This commitment to self-awareness and self-responsibility is the cornerstone of my Purejoy coaching philosophy. By acknowledging emotional triggers and working through them—rather than blaming or shaming the child—it creates a neutral ground where parents can guide their children instead of powering over them or seeing good behavior as the gold standard. I’ve developed strategies that not only benefit me but also empower the parents I coach. The Purejoy approach fosters a nurturing environment where both parents and children can thrive emotionally.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Initially, there were very few parent coaches when I founded Purejoy. Facebook was my primary platform for sharing, and I built my clientele there. As my community grew, word of mouth and weekly free Purejoy intros helped expand my audience. I also organized one of the early parenting summits, which introduced my work to a wider audience and supported community growth. In recent years, I have the Parenting Paused podcast and send out a weekly newsletters which is also a way I’ve grown my audience. In the last six years, I have trained Purejoy Parent Coaches and have utilized webinars and ads to expand this aspect of my business as well.
This growth has not only broadened my reach but also allowed me to refine and enhance the Purejoy training programs I offer. By leveraging these platforms, I’ve connected with a diverse group of parents and coaches, fostering a community committed to conscious parenting. This evolution in my approach has been both rewarding and instrumental in furthering the Purejoy philosophy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://purejoyparenting.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purejoyparenting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purejoyparenting/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-potter-47400a2/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/purejoyparentin
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Purejoyparenting
Image Credits
Mary Menger (all of the photos)