The Art of Achieving: CEO Jilu Joseph's Inspiring TEDxMEC Talk
TEDxMEC event fosters a community of multifaceted humanness and shared experiences where the fundamentals of life are celebrated.
As an independently organised event, the programme has laid a foundation to propagate ideas capable of changing mindsets and inspiring youth to crave a better life in society.
Our guiding light and the CEO of Webandcrafts, Jilu Joseph, was recently invited to a TEDxMEC event, where she gave an engaging talk on something we would have asked ourselves at one point in life: ‘How can I achieve something?’.
With a great takeaway for the audience, the 9th speaker from Kerala took the opportunity to encourage young innovators and dreamers.
About TEDxMEC
TEDx is a TED-licensed and independently organised event that encourages local communities to host live speakers to convey ideas, experiences and perspectives to their audiences.
With the mission of communicating ideas to inspire a large community, the programme aims to promote new thoughts and innovation. At the TEDxMEC event, the live speakers ignite deep discussions for a group to share a TED-like experience.
About the Speaker
From a humble beginning to the position of CEO of Webandcrafts, Jilu Joseph has gracefully taken care of her responsibilities towards transforming her dreams into reality.
With educational roots grounded in Kottayam, Jilu stands at the forefront of a digital transformation company with 8+ years of dedicated experience in the IT industry.
After graduating from BVM Holy Cross College (2008-2011), she pursued an MBA in Finance from Berchmans Institute of Management Studies (2014-2016).
Her early stint at Cognizant Technology Solutions paved the foundation for her future endeavours. As the first speaker at TEDxMEC 2024, Jilu had to share something that influenced everyone's life and the audience loved to listen to it.
The Essence of Her TEDxMEC Talk: The Art of Achieving!
The title ‘The Art of Achieving’ was quite impressive and the talk justified the title.
The curtains were unveiled, with Jilu expressing her excitement about being on a stage like TEDx, which was one of her dreams.
Everything Jilu achieved was once a dream for her. She quoted the words of the missile man, the late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, “Dream is not something that you see while sleeping; it is something that does not let you sleep.”
Seizing Dreams through Visualisation
Jilu was clear about her dream with vivid visualisation, which she believed was important to transform into reality. A detailed visualisation of a dream lets your brain resonate more with it. ‘Thought-word-action’ forms the steps of creation.
Jilu quoted this concept from a study by Dr. Biasiotto at the University of Chicago, which involved basketball players practising free throws divided into three groups. The first group practised physically for an hour daily for a month; the second group used visualisation techniques for the same duration; and the third group did not practice at all.
After one month, the physical practice group improved by 24%, while the visualisation group saw a 23% improvement without physically touching a basketball, and the control group showed no improvement. This justified that visualisation is a step towards success.
Reflection of Personal Vs Professional Life
As a mother of two boys, aged 3 and 1, Jilu felt least prepared to take over as the CEO of Webandcrafts. Jilu felt overwhelmed by the thought of balancing personal and professional life, especially the responsibility of leading an IT company.
“It’s never been about whether we are qualified, smart or prepared enough. If you are here today, it is because you are.” These lines persuaded Jilu to seize the opportunity and take up the position of CEO at Webandcrafts.
Manifesting Dreams to Success Stories
Jilu quoted another study conducted among older individuals where a question was asked: “What would you do if you had the chance to live your life again?" which received interesting responses like more love, opportunities, attempts, dreams, laughter, and life.
We can do everything we desire with faith in ourselves and courage when the right time comes. But this doesn’t mean every dream will come true or everyone will own a multinational company, Jilu stressed.
Someone becomes a genius when he/she cultivates hidden talents within them. Jilu emphasised the necessity of awareness, hard work, and consistency in life.
Jilu went on to quote the examples of Sigmund Froyd, who was laughed at while presenting his ideas to a European scientific community; Van Gogh, who only sold a painting in his entire life; and J.K. Rowling, who was living in poverty before she thought of Harry Potter. Trust the universe, which supports you in every moment.
A Balance between Parenthood & Career Responsibilities
Jilu also spoke about how she handled things when things took an unexpected turn in her life after her second child made an early entrance into the world.
Jilu had meticulously planned how to ensure a perfect balance between parenthood and the career journey. But on a very hectic Monday at the peak of the business season, she started experiencing premature labour pain. At one point, the pain subsided and Jilu even felt like returning to work, but things quickly turned critical.
With the warmth and support of her family, especially her husband, Abin, their son was born safe and sound.
Jilu’s colleagues managed their responsibilities wholeheartedly and helped her focus on the family. She looks back at the timely alignment of the universe and the support of people during those tough times.
Love, strength and support can come from the most unexpected places. All we need is to trust it with no speck of doubt, said Jilu.
Every Problem Has a Solution- Art of Achieving
How do we understand that the universe is in our support? Jilu answered this beautifully in her words: “Every problem has a solution, and we grow only through resolving these problems. Never be scared. Whenever a problem seems bigger than me, I leave it for a while and seek the universe’s healing power. Every time, I see new possibilities evolving in our favour. Time is a big healer.”
Jilu emphasised the importance of keeping the company with powerful motivators and mentors, learning success stories, and analysing failure points. When she joined Webandcrafts (now WAC), in 2016, her husband and the company’s founder, Abin, had told her to go and die (D.I.E.), which meant to Dream, Intent, and Experience. Abin believes that every dream demands a strong intention, which means having a plan of action with a clear goal.
It is always about daring to dream big, visualising the dreams in detail, and taking action without waiting for everything to turn perfect—which is the Art of Achieving!
