When I started a blog, one of the first things I wrote about was life lessons learned from films that I’d watched many times with my classes over the years. With each group of students, hearing their reactions, getting their perspectives and sharing my own with them was like seeing each film through a new and different lens. Since then, I’ve thought and written about favorite TV shows old and new, but have yet to give new media such as podcasts a close examination, though I love hearing stories told on the radio, and am a longtime fan of spoken word performances.
Being on the road a lot this summer has provided me with time to listen to my favorite radio stations, playlists (especially ones that provide musical inspiration for my novels or other works in progress) and yes—podcasts. Having run across a “Week’s Best” mention in the UK Guardian about Johnathan Walton’s Cocaine Air podcast, I decided to have a listen. It’s a series of interviews with T.J. Dominguez, one of the world’s most successful drug smugglers who flew shipments of cocaine from Columbia to the U.S. for former drug mega-kingpin, Pablo Escobar.
For Gen Xers out there who once caught Miami Vice on TV before going out Friday nights in the 1980’s, listening to T.J.’s adventures in the drug trade might evoke nostalgia for a stylistic era of sleek sportscars, speedboats and shady characters exchanging drugs and money to a Michael Mann soundtrack. Though that was the heyday for T.J.’s endeavors, T.J.’s account of his own journey in his talks with podcaster and author Johnathan Walton reveal a by-the-bootstraps/ backstage view of that world where things are not as they seem, actions speak louder than words, and real stand-up guys are very hard to find.
It's a challenge to write about this podcast without dropping spoilers, so I’ll focus on the things that resonated with me about T.J.’s incredible story, and life lessons from it that I take to heart.
1. Don’t ask permission.
One thing that stayed with me long after I heard the first couple of episodes was when T.J. makes the decision to begin smuggling drugs—marijuana, at first—and has a heartfelt conversation with his late father about his plans.
T.J., playing by the rules, already tried to secure funding for a legitimate business venture his dad wanted to build before he died, and it’s only after getting conned more than once that T.J. decides to get the money himself, any way he has to. He informs his dad’s spirit of his intentions one night under a starry sky, stating he’ll do whatever it takes, even if that falls outside the realm of legality: “I’m not asking for your permission,” he says with conviction during the course of this pivotal conversation. He knows what he wants to do wouldn’t sit well with his dad, but T.J. is determined to fulfill this promise that involves realizing his father’s most cherished dream.
In a world where taking action without consulting someone else first, or even getting a whole range of opinions before making a move can be seen as transgressive, this phrase rings often in my head when my past conditioning or a (possibly) well-meaning someone admonishes me for doing something that I wanted to/ needed to/ knew that I must do. T.J.’s commitment is a reminder that worrying about what other people might think, and letting others decide what you should or shouldn’t do (even those you love) is a recipe for unhappiness.
Whether you agree or disagree with T.J.s actions, his decision to quit seeking funding from outside sources (after having the rug pulled out from under him time and again) and make his own money, playing by his own rules, is empowering. When it comes to something that’s really important, seeking outside permission, approval or validation cedes power, putting others’ opinions, concerns and agendas above your own.
In other words, don't ask; just do it.
2. Don’t pretend to know it all.
In spite of his phenomenal success as a drug smuggler, T.J. has the humility not to try and impress others by pretending to know more than he really does. He doesn’t masquerade as an expert, and realizes that in order to take his operation to the next level, he’ll have to put his own tools in place to make real money.
First, he needs an airplane, so he gets one: a tired old shell that will eventually transform into “Gigi,” his vehicle for moving shipments of marijuana and later cocaine from Columbia, to the Bahamas, to south Florida. At first, he doesn’t know how to fly a plane, but he finds someone who does until he acquires the skills to do it himself. T.J.’s gradual mastery of all the moving parts that make up the well-oiled machine of his smuggling business is most impressive. He also runs several successful non-smuggling businesses that are quite legit, including a cell phone company and the largest Lamborghini dealership in the world.
That list grows, along with his stellar reputation in the smuggling game, which is what gets the attention of Pablo Escobar. Well aware what his experience and expertise is worth, T.J. drives a hard bargain, negotiating a better deal for himself than Escobar is initially willing to offer. T.J. has the nerve to do this because his confidence is grounded in hard-won wisdom gained through trial and error, and refining his efforts through patience and persistence. Those things, while priceless in themselves, make T.J.’s services ultimately worthwhile to Escobar, and make T.J. a millionaire many, many times over.
That T.J. remains a stand-up guy who takes care of his workers, believes in fair play and treats others the way he wants to be treated is a testament to his management skills and work ethic. He’s a great boss, keeps his word, and finds success in a business not known for its commitment to integrity by having personal integrity, a strong moral code, and by not being a poser.
In other words, if you’re in the smuggling business (and if you’re not a thief), you want to work for T.J..
3. Focus on solutions.
When something unexpected happens to throw a wrench in the plan, there are always those who melt down, get angry, fire people willy-nilly, or quit in frustration. T.J. is not one of those people.
When problems occur, T.J. doesn’t dwell on the problem, but on solving it, and how to do better next time, which is a more effective use of time, energy and brain power. Whether it’s finding the best way to thread through Miami traffic in a vehicle loaded with cocaine (what if you get into a fender bender? A traffic stop? Something else you never would’ve thought of?), T.J. thinks ahead about how to prevent such things, and if it happens, there’s a plan for it. Another way T.J. educated himself in seeking solutions was by looking at mistakes other smugglers made and figuring out ways in advance to avoid those, analyzing what a better approach might have been.
You can’t anticipate every problem, but if you’re prepared, you can flip the script in your favor, and that’s what T.J. does.
4. Keep your cool.
Granted, sometimes you’re not prepared for every eventuality, and don’t have the luxury of brainstorming solutions when life blows up in your face.
For example, when all manner of law enforcement surrounds the house where you’re storing tons of unadulterated contraband and it might only be seconds before a knock at the door precedes said door being broken down, what do you do? Argue with your companions about who could’ve tipped off the fuzz? Get down on your knees, ready to give yourself up? Cry?
For T.J., none of the above. It’s in such moments of testing that a meltdown is not the answer. If the worst happens, it happens. But don’t help it along by giving up, giving in and letting your fears and doubts crowd out any chance of overcoming a very bad situation. In these moments, it pays to take one step out of the center of the universe, and see what happens before you do something precipitant.
In other words, sometimes it’s not all about you, dog.
5. Don’t let fear of failure stop you.
The fifth and final lesson is integral to success, because if you do let this fear stop you, you’re preemptively taking yourself out of the game when there are already enough forces against you; don’t be against yourself. Fear is quite real, but letting it derail your efforts is a big mistake if not a downright tragedy.
During the course of Cocaine Air, T.J. faces loss, disappointment, death threats, betrayal, incarceration and more, but none of those things dampen T. J.’s enthusiasm for life, his natural curiosity, nor his desire to keep moving forward with unshakable optimism.
According to T.J., even if you do fall down, ‘falling forward’ means you’re a couple steps closer to succeeding next time. I personally like this idea because it takes the pressure off. The potential for failure is always there, but so is the prospect of success, if you don’t let fear keep you from trying. Also, it helps to keep in mind that even a seasoned pro was once an absolute beginner, and, I can say from my own experience, you don’t know what you don’t know until you try—then you know!
It's not a spoiler to mention that T.J.’s conversations with Johnathan Walton occur immediately after T.J.’s release from thirteen years in prison. It happened, but T.J.’s attitude about his time on the inside doesn’t involve bitterness, anger, nor self-pity.
T.J.’s great story-telling ability, charm and engaging style make this podcast compelling, and Johnathan’s insightful questions and comments bring it all together into a memorable listening experience.
Johnathan Walton is also host of the podcast Queen of the Con, about how he got swindled out of a small fortune by his best friend, and which inspired his new book, Anatomy of A Con Artist.
Con artists seem to be everywhere these days: a fact of life, in person and hiding in the technology we use every day. Is there an upside to this inescapable state of affairs? After all, it was through getting conned (twice) that T.J. decided to take matters into his own hands and make his own money, and, having been conned himself, Johnathan now hunts con artists, investigating and exposing them to the world. If there’s any upside to getting conned, scammed or grifted, maybe it’s the fact that it forces one to choose whether to take it or fight back.
Johnathan and T.J. fought back, leading to life-altering results, and both survived and thrived.
There must be hope for all of us!