"You can only connect the dots looking backward, so trust that they will somehow connect in your future."
That belief, borrowed from Steve Jobs but truly earned by Ranjith Rajagopal. ICF PCC, carried him through 26+ years in IT, a business failure, and a full reinvention into coaching.
Ranjith grew up in Palakkad, Kerala, his father was a banker, his mother a homemaker, and while his elder sister stayed glued to books, Ranjith was the one always outside, playing cricket, badminton, football, whatever the day offered. That contrast between siblings, he believes, quietly shaped who he became.
His academic path took an early sharp turn, a B.Tech in Civil Engineering followed by a Master's in Software Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. Looking back, he calls it his first reinvention, a mindset of pursuing things that look difficult or entirely different from where he currently stood.
For 26+ years, he built a career in corporate IT, moving from coding to leadership and client relationships. But after 18 years, the drive began to fade. He ventured into a Techno Agri startup with friends, but Covid and other factors brought it down. Its failure in 2021 became a turning point in his life.
Ranjith's father, a banker, was the most resilient person he knew after his own father died during a family trip, he held the grief privately for days rather than disturb it. Ranjith still draws on that restraint whenever life feels heavy.
He eventually realized he’d become a workaholic, working 14 hours per day until his body forced him to stop. Passing out at work made him confront what he’d been avoiding: he wasn’t in flow, he was working under pressure
& quietly building resentment.
The business failure that followed didn't break him, it recalibrated him. He came out wiser, calmer, and more resilient, eventually training as a Life and Leadership Coach, earning his ICF PCC credential in 2025.
He considers this as the second chapter of his Life & Career. Today, he coaches mid-to-senior IT professionals navigating the very crossroad he once stood at himself, especially those anxious about AI disrupting their careers.
His biggest life lesson: each of us moves on a different timeline, and it cannot be bent. Stay grateful for the journey already covered, remain patient, but stay open to risk and exploration.
Ranjith also rejects the idea of "work-life balance" altogether, seeing work not as something to be balanced against life, but integrated into a life built around purpose.
Looking ahead, he's channeling his fascination with FLOW, the psychological state of peak, focused performance, into his coaching practice, helping IT leaders navigate AI disruption with clarity instead of anxiety.
He now takes an annual 3–4 days solo trip offline, minimal, and reflective to reset and find clarity. His message to IT leaders at a similar crossroads: reach out. You don’t have to walk it alone.
This story was told by Ranjith Rajagopal and published with their permission by the What's Your Story editorial team.
