Meet Your Guide: Julio Santana
My only real method is listening well enough to understand what’s actually going on inside of you. My ability to do this well is, of course, contingent on a few other things: how accurately I’m able to identify the implications of your ‘behavior’ or tendencies, which is based on how much experience I have and how much I know. Essentially, how well I can relate myself to you.
There are limitations to these things, yes? Thus I have a sense of my limitations, and work best with a certain kind of spirit. The person who is ambitious, bright, even brilliantly self-aware, yet too fear-ridden to break out of certain cycles. I essentially provide the gentle push. Sometimes more firmly, depending on your personality and where you are in your process.
I spent some years teaching our babies. Middle schoolers, high schoolers, and some young adults who found themselves in a community justice center as an alternative to being held in other punitive institutions. I’ve tutored college students. I’ve supervised our precious communities of adults with disabilities—doing everything I could to help ‘socialize’ them into a more independent lifestyle (granted, this was the company’s mission, not necessarily a personal view or belief about what was necessary or good for this group). And I've been writing and recording music since a kid.
I’m definitely an artist, writer, healer who learned to be useful and competent in more traditional workplace environments.
After experiencing a very intensive personal period of growth and healing and “self actualization”—which picked up in 2020 and has been ongoing since—I realized I was in deep ‘need’ of shifting my focus. I could no longer voluntarily submit myself to systems that were designed not for visionaries but for task-oriented cheap labor. Systems that have inherent ceilings. Systems that aren’t designed to value everything you bring to the table. Systems that limit your ability to affect larger change. Systems that suck out the chi you know you could use for something greater.
I now dedicate myself to adults who find themselves in a similar space. Those craving meaning. Those who sort of know what they want to be doing, how they want their life to feel, but have avoided the path so long that it’s become harder to see—let alone embrace—clearly and unapologetically.
While my abilities aren’t limited to the following, I tend to see great results with: Purpose-driven adults who feel called to share themselves with the world more deeply—but hold back due to deep-seated fear.
Professionals with technical skills who have a career but feel unfulfilled (interested in finding meaning outside of their job, perhaps pivoting, but are resisting due to fear).
Entrepreneurs struggling to grow on social media (simplifying your approach to marketing, ‘personal brand’, and overcoming fear blocks together).
Individuals who have been in talk therapy for years but could use a fresh perspective.
My sessions often involve crying. Silence. Affirmations. And learning to accept all aspects of the human condition. We don’t fill the space with busy talk in order to create the illusion of productivity.
I get to know you as best as possible by asking the ‘right’ kinds of questions. Then we explore your desires, and what appears to be ‘in the way’ of your aligning with them. I have tons of journaling methods, self-talk techniques, and wellness practices—but these are secondary and sometimes performative. If I do my job well enough, you’ll organically make your way to your ‘winning’ routine and techniques.
These sessions aren’t assignments; they serve as an experience to reinforce your ongoing journey into autonomy and fulfillment.
Schedule with me here.
No judging or forcing outcomes. We work to uncover what’s ‘actually’ going on inside of us.
Education & Experience:
Master’s Degree:
Relay Graduate School of Education 2015-2017
Master of Arts in Teaching, Dual Certificate: Reading & Writing Intervention Specialist 5-9, SPED Generalist 7-12 Summa Cum Laude
Undergrad:
Bowling Green State University 2010-2014
Bachelors in Sociology, minor in Philosophy Cum Laude
Extensive additional coursework in English Literature / Education
Awarded the “Dr. Aida Tomeh Memorial Scholarship Award for Outstanding Sociology Major”, the equivalent of valedictorian of that field.
Formal Teaching and Mentorship:
Providence, RI 2014-15 (Gilbert Stuart Middle School)
Bronx, NY 2015-2017 (Bronx Compass High School)
Brooklyn, NY 2017-2018 (Brownsville Community Justice Center)
Private Tutoring 2017-Present (Remote & NJ/NY)