"I go in scared to death, but guess what? I don't stop. I just keep going."
— Joseph Coco
Electrician • Entrepreneur • Author
What happens when you're terrified of the next move but know staying where you are isn't the answer? Joseph Coco has spent much of his life finding out.
Episode Summary
Joseph Coco doesn't describe courage as the absence of fear. At some of the biggest turning points of his life, he admits he was "scared to death."
His journey has taken him from selling drugs as a teenager and accumulating felony arrests to becoming an electrician, landing an unlikely opportunity at the Federal Reserve Bank, walking away from the security of that career to build his own business, mentoring young people through the trades and becoming an author in his seventies.
Throughout this conversation, Joseph and Audley explore what it means to keep moving when fear gives you every reason to stop. Joseph shares how faith reshaped the direction of his life, why skilled trades became more than employment for him, and what happened when he risked stability to follow another calling.
They also explore humility, accepting help, using your gifts in service of others and refusing to allow the circumstances you inherited to determine where your story ends.
Joseph's story is messy, unconventional and deeply human. Most importantly, it demonstrates that where you begin does not have to determine where you finish.
Listen to a conversation about fear, faith, purpose, second chances and having the audacity to keep going.
Key Points:
KEY TAKEAWAY 1
Courage doesn't require fear to disappear. Sometimes courage is simply continuing while you're still scared.
KEY TAKEAWAY 2
Your past may explain where you started, but it doesn't have to dictate where you finish.
KEY TAKEAWAY 3
Skills developed in one chapter of life can sometimes be redirected toward something far more constructive in the next.
KEY TAKEAWAY 4
Success rarely happens entirely alone. Recognizing the people who believed in you, taught you and opened doors is part of understanding your own journey.
Guest Bio
Joseph Coco is an electrician, entrepreneur and author whose life has been shaped by dramatic reinvention.
After a troubled youth that included selling drugs and encounters with the criminal justice system, Joseph describes faith as a turning point that redirected his life. He entered a federal employment program, worked as a janitor and eventually trained as an electrician at a shipyard.
That trade eventually led him to an unlikely opportunity working as an electrician at the Federal Reserve Bank. Eight years later, despite having the stability of what could have been a career for life, Joseph left to build his own electrical business.
Over the decades, he says one of the most meaningful parts of that work has been teaching young people electrical skills and helping them find opportunities through the trades.
In his seventies, Joseph added another chapter to his story by becoming an author with The Tradesman.
Audacious Insights
You Don't Have to Stop Being Afraid Before You Move Forward
AUDACIOUS INSIGHT SUMMARY
Fear is often treated as evidence that we're not ready, when sometimes it simply means we're approaching something that matters. Joseph Coco's journey offers a different model of courage: acknowledging the fear, accepting the risk and continuing forward anyway.
Special Offers
The Tradesman
DESCRIPTION
Joseph Coco's book draws from his unconventional journey through adversity, faith, skilled trades, entrepreneurship and personal transformation. During the conversation, Joseph described writing his first book at age 70 as another example of continuing to pursue something new.
Personal Insight
Something Joseph said stopped me: "I go in scared to death, but guess what? I don't stop."
That's audacity.
I've never believed living audaciously means walking through life without fear. I've had plenty of moments when I've questioned myself, worried about what could go wrong or wondered whether I was ready. The difference is what happens next.
Joseph's story reminded me that fear gets a voice, but it doesn't automatically get a vote. Sometimes you acknowledge that you're scared and keep moving anyway. Looking backward, you may discover that the wall you were afraid of confronting became the very thing that showed you what you were capable of.
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