CEO’s Secret to Decision-Making: Total Silence

CEO’s Secret to Decision-Making: Total Silence

How a $15,000 bet helped Khajak Keledjianof Intermix find inner peace

JEN MURPHY

March 24, 2014 5:59 p.m. ET

A friend bet Khajak Keledjian $15,000 six years ago that he wouldn’t be able to sit still for 15 minutes in complete silence. After nearly five months of trying, the 41-year-old CEO of high-fashion retailer Intermix couldn’t do it.

“I never expected it to be so hard,” Mr. Keledjian says. He even tried going to a church to sit still. “I found myself reaching for my BlackBerry every minute. I couldn’t shut myself down.”

When he admitted defeat, his friend said he didn’t want Mr. Keledjian’s money, but he did want him to try yoga. Mr. Keledjian began practicing Kundalini, often called the yoga of awareness. “It’s like a mind cleaning,” he says. With a CEO’s hectic schedule, “I didn’t have a peaceful moment.”

Mr. Keledjian founded Intermix with his brother when he was 19 years old. In December 2012, the company, which has 37 stores in the U.S. and Canada, was sold to Gap Inc.GPS -1.63% for $130 million, but Mr. Keledjian maintains the title CEO and remains hands on, traveling to find new designers and helping choose styles sold in the stores.

Throughout his company’s growth, Mr. Keledjian made time to run, take spin classes and kick box. “I was burning calories and releasing endorphins, but none of those activities brought me inner peace,” he says.

He now practices Kundalini every other day and meditates every day. Kundalini focuses on breathing and meditation, and incorporates different kinds of movements such as dancing or twisting.

To deepen his meditation practice, Mr. Keledjian took a 10-day retreat of guided meditation in complete silence at the Southwest Vipassana Meditation Center in Kaufman, Texas, in 2012. Watching television, reading and even eye contact was forbidden. “I came out of that completely transformed,” he says.

Upon returning to New York City, Mr. Keledjian decided to propose to his then-girlfriend and sell his business to Gap. “Those 10 days gave me so much clarity and clarity leads to great decisions,” he says.

The Workout

In his apartment, Mr. Keledjian has a space with candles and a yoga mat, where each morning he meditates for 20 minutes. If he has a particularly stressful day, he might meditate in the evening.

He practices Kundalini at home every other day and attends classes at Golden Bridge Yoga studio in SoHo at least once a week, often on Monday evenings. On Mondays, “I just have meeting after meeting,” he says. “Class brings up so much energy.”

He has a Kundalini teacher who comes to his home about twice a month for one-on-one sessions that also incorporate Vinyasa yoga and stretching.

He goes on a meditation retreat at least once a year. He says he likes to go to Dai Bosatsu Zendo, a Buddhist monastery in Livingston Manor, N.Y. “I drive up Friday night and stay through Monday morning and there is no TV, no music, no reading,” he says. “My imagination and creativity opens up after that.”

The Diet

Three years ago, Mr. Keledjian went vegan, hoping the change in diet would lower his cholesterol. “I wasn’t oversize but stress was contributing to my high blood pressure,” he says.

In nine months, he says he lost about 18 pounds and he found a new mental clarity and alertness. “But I was suffering from so much deprivation,” he says.

Now, he tries to maintain a diet of no meat and dairy, but if he wants a steak and fries once in a while, he’ll have it. “I won’t have a 32-ounce steak,” he says, “but I will have a corner of that steak with a lot of vegetables.”

Mr. Keledjian also makes a point of savoring his food. “In the past, I’d grab two burgers and shove them down my throat,” he says. “Now, I eat five french fries and eat each slowly and chew consciously.”

Mr. Keledjian’s breakfast is usually oatmeal, egg whites, or simply fresh fruit and juice. His assistant orders in salad or soup for lunch and dinner is often vegetables and sometimes fish.

The Gear & Cost

A 10-class package at Golden Bridge Yoga costs $150. A weekend at Dai Bosatsu Zendo goes for a suggested $225 minimum donation. Mr. Keledjian wears shorts and a T-shirt to meditate and do yoga and has even practiced in a suit. “I just roll up the sleeves,” he says.