Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Laurie Dufresne of North County, San Diego

Laurie Dufresne shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Laurie, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
I’m being called to make a bigger impact, and honestly, that’s something I’ve been afraid of for a long time. For years, I knew I wanted to create something that could reach more people than I could coach one-on-one. I finally stepped into that calling by creating my first digital course and workbook, Breaking Free from Limiting Beliefs.

This was a dream on my heart for years, but I kept telling myself I didn’t have what it took. The tech overwhelmed me. I didn’t know how to build a course or promote it online. Social media content, writing a workbook, setting up systems—it all felt out of my league. I tried to quit more times than I can count.

But the crazy part is, the very thing I was building—this course on breaking free from limiting beliefs—was the exact process I had to walk through myself. Every doubt, every fear that surfaced during this journey, I had to face head-on using the tools I teach. It was humbling, stretching, and honestly, transformational.

Now I know without a doubt I was called to create this. Not because I have it all figured out, but because I needed to live it out first.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Laurie Dufresne. I’m a mindset and life coach, course creator, and speaker. For over 13 years, I’ve helped people break free from what’s holding them back, whether it’s limiting beliefs, unhealthy patterns, or just feeling stuck, so they can move forward with confidence and clarity.

What makes my work unique is that it’s rooted in real-life experience. I’ve spent decades doing the inner work myself, learning how to release fear, perfectionism, and people-pleasing. I don’t just teach mindset tools. I’ve lived them. And now I walk alongside others as they find freedom in their own stories.

I recently launched my first full course and workbook, Breaking Free from Limiting Beliefs, and also created a powerful mini-course called Reaction Reset, which helps people identify their emotional triggers and learn how to respond rather than react. It’s designed to offer practical, life-giving tools for navigating tough conversations, relationship dynamics, and those moments where emotions tend to take over.

I’m also very excited to share that I’m developing a series of workbooks called Belief Breakthroughs: The Circle of Life Series, each one focused on helping people uncover and shift the beliefs that show up in different seasons of life. Whether it’s stepping into adulthood, navigating motherhood, rebuilding after brokenness, or entering a new chapter like empty nesting, each workbook is meant to bring clarity, healing, and hope.

Right now, I’m passionate about creating tools that help people feel empowered, emotionally grounded, and clear about who they are and what they want. I believe transformation is possible, and with the right support, people can break free and create a life they’re proud of.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I believed I was shy and that I didn’t have anything valuable to add to a conversation. I was the quiet one, the silent observer. I truly believed my role was to stay in the background while others led.

But that belief is no longer true.

What changed everything was being given opportunities to lead—first in small ways, then eventually on larger stages. When people started depending on me, I found the courage to rise, not just for myself but for them. Leading teams, mentoring others, and coaching people through their own breakthroughs pushed me to stretch out of my comfort zone.

Ironically, it was through helping others find their confidence that I found mine. I began to realize I had something valuable to say—and that my quiet, thoughtful nature was actually a strength. I started proving to myself what I was made of.

Now I’ve built an entire career around helping others do the same—guiding them to break free from the limiting beliefs that keep them stuck and to step into the confidence they didn’t think they had.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me where my true strength comes from. It taught me to slow down, to stop chasing worth through achievement, and to start healing from the inside out.

Some of the hardest seasons in my life were moments where I felt completely stuck, unseen, or like I didn’t have what it takes. And in those moments, I had no choice but to surrender. That’s where my faith was built. That’s when I began to stop striving and started truly seeking the path that God had me on—and trusting His timing, not mine.

Those painful moments exposed the lies I believed about myself and invited me to let go of the old stories. That’s where real transformation began. Not in the victories, but in the surrender and the wrestling.

It was through the pain that I found my purpose. I wouldn’t be doing what I do now if it weren’t for the struggles. Creating my course, Breaking Free from Limiting Beliefs, came directly from walking that path. I had to learn how to rise, how to trust, and how to step into the life God was calling me to.

What success never gave me, suffering did. It gave me depth, compassion, and a much deeper sense of purpose. It taught me that real growth happens in the valleys, not just on the mountaintops.

That’s actually what I’m most drawn to in others too. When I meet someone who’s successful, I’m not impressed by the cars or the material things. I want to know their story. What did they overcome? What did they have to let go of? What changed them on the road to success?

Because that’s where the gold is. It’s not just in what they’ve gained, but in who they had to become to get there.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes. What you see is 100% authentically me.

One of the most common things people tell me is, “Thank you for being so vulnerable and real, I can so relate and you give me hope.” And that means everything to me.

Early on in my coaching career, I thought I had to come across polished and put-together to be taken seriously. But what I’ve learned is that people don’t want perfect. They want someone who understands them. Someone they can relate to. Someone who’s real. Something that I have learned with working with so many people over the years is that we are all more alike than we are different.

I don’t pretend to have it all figured out. I’m still learning. I’m still growing. I’ve walked through deep valleys, and I carry strong empathy for people because of it. When someone’s hurting, I feel it with them. I want nothing more than to help everyone I can, because I know what it’s like to need someone to believe in you.

That’s why I do what I do. I show up with honesty, humility, and heart. Because that’s what changes lives. Not perfection, but presence.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I loved deeply, that I made others feel safe, seen, and heard. That I believed in them when they couldn’t yet believe in themselves.

I want to be remembered as someone who helped people see their own greatness, who guided them toward a better future, and who led them to see themselves the way God sees them—with purpose, value, and potential.

I hope they say that I was an inspiration of hope. That my life reminded them that healing is possible, that growth is worth fighting for, and that they were never too far gone to step into who they were created to be.

More than anything, I want to leave behind a ripple effect that continues long after I’m gone. One that says, “Because of her, I didn’t give up. Because of her, I started believing in myself again.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lauriedufresnecoaching.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriedufresne.coaching/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-dufresne-040584172
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573379951185
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LaurieDufresneCoaching