We were lucky to catch up with Joseph Santagata recently and have shared our conversation below.
Joseph, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My parents. I have never seen anyone work as hard as they do. My dad has always been in business for himself and my mom has always had full time job while also maintaining a household for my family. I watched them put their heads down and work every day for my 30 years now, no matter how tired or sick they were feeling or no matter how big the challenges were for that day. They are the toughest, strongest, and hardest working people I know and that is the standard that I have for myself. Anything less than that is unacceptable.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am the owner and operator of GataGoalie. GataGoalie was launched in 2020 and our business is coaching and training for hockey goalies. We offer private lessons, host goalie camps and clinics, and also work with local youth travel and rec teams as their goalie coach. We operate out of TGH Ice Plex in Brandon.
My passion has always been hockey and specifically the position of goalie. It is arguably the most important position on the team, yet often is underserved when it comes to training and coaching, which is why I launched GataGoalie. We help goalies of all ages and levels develop their skills both on and off the ice, while also teaching them mindsets needed not only for the sport, but also in life, such as work ethic, accountability, and leadership.
Growing up, some of the biggest influences in my life were my sport coaches. You can learn a lot about life through sport, so I take the responsibility of coaching very seriously. I try to lead by example every day and challenge my students to believe in themselves, work harder then they ever thought was possible, and embrace finding solutions to problems rather than excuses. It is a very rewarding part of my job to not only watch these young athletes grow and develop into great young goaltenders, but also to watch them grow and develop into great young men and women.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I’d have to say the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey probably were confidence, work ethic, and passion.
Confidence for me was the hardest quality to obtain. I was quiet and shy growing up so it took years for me to come out of my shell. When I eventually developed into a confident individual, my world changed. I was performing better and started to achieve more. I also felt that when things started to go wrong, that I had the power to turn things around. It might be one of the hardest skills to develop, but I would say it is one of the most important. If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect others to believe in you or a product/service you are selling?
I spoke about how my parents instilled a high work ethic in me at a very young age. Without them, I would be nothing. Bottom line is this, there are a lot of smart and talented individuals out there in all fields, industries, and sports. If you want to separate yourself from the rest of the pack, you have to consistently out work your competition. And just remember to never be satisfied. Even if you think you made it big, if you stop outworking your competition, others will catch you and eventually pass you.
Passion is hard because this is something that you cannot teach. You’re either passionate about something or you are not. However, when you do find that thing that you have passion for, it really brings out the best in you. Every day never feels like work to you. You are excited to get out of bed and start your day and you are also having fun to just be doing what you are doing. At this point, all the success that comes from doing what you love is just a byproduct of you loving what you do. My biggest advice is find what you are passionate about and do it for work. You will be a happier individual, do better work, and the success will follow.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I am feeling overwhelmed, it usually ties together with me feeling not as confident for whatever the reason. So I look for ways to try to reset my confidence because when my confidence is high, I feel invincible and that I can overcome anything, no matter how hard it may seem.
One strategy I use is making lists. I make lists of everything that I need to do whether it is a small task or a big project. I order them from highest priority to lowest, any deadlines they may have, and anything that is relevant to completing the task or reaching a goal.
I like making lists for two reasons. One is it calms me down when I am feeling overwhelmed or stressed. Organizing what I need to do and when I need to get it done by puts a plan in place and I now have a direction for where I need to go. Now that my mind is a little more level-headed because I have a goal and plan in place, all that’s left is to get back to work.
With that, comes my second reason for using lists, is that it rebuilds my confidence. As I start completing tasks, one by one, it creates “mini-victories” for me. When I complete each task, I get to cross it off my list and watch myself get closer to the end result. Seeing my progress and seeing myself get closer to reaching my goals or completing everything on my list, builds my confidence back up and it just snowballs from there.
Once my confidence is high again, I am less likely to feel overwhelmed from a similar situation and that I can get anything done or achieve any goal.
To me, making a list is my way of hitting the reset button. It helps me turn a negative into a positive, and once accomplished, I come out even stronger for next time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gatagoalie.com
- Instagram: @gatagoalie
- Facebook: GataGoalie
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gatagoalie
Image Credits
Nate Lippy
