"Clarity compounds faster than hustle."
"doubt is always about the goodness, right? We always doubt good things. We never doubt the negativity."
"like you go and rest deeper so that you can go out and play harder."
"I never knew that waiting can also be fun. it's kind of training my mind, training my being to new ways of thinking."
In this episode of Low to Grow, Annie Wenmiao Yu speaks with Kushal Choksi, a 9/11 survivor, former Goldman Sachs quantitative analyst, entrepreneur and author who left Wall Street to pursue meditation and purpose. Kushal shares how surviving 9/11 reshaped his view of success, how SKY breath meditation transformed his life, and why he co-founded the wellness chocolate company Elements Truffles with his wife. The conversation explores intuition, consciousness, the Institute of Absolute Intelligence, and even includes a live demonstration of a 'life scan'.
What you'll learn
- A life-altering event like surviving 9/11 can deliver sudden clarity that there is more to life than chasing money or external markers of success.
- Daily meditation and breath work, such as SKY breath meditation, can help you tap into your inner voice and manage your mind amid information overload.
- Inner work and material ambition are not opposites; resting deeper allows you to 'go out and play harder.'
- Doubt often targets the good things in life, and holding doubts is a natural part of the journey rather than something to eliminate.
- Problem-solving is the common thread across finance, tech and consumer products, but different industries teach different lessons, including patience.
- Following your own heart and intuition, rather than copying what peers around you do, is central to living a meaningful life.
Key moments from the conversation
Arriving in America and culture shock
Kushal describes coming from a modest background in India to the US as a student, facing language challenges and being struck by the idea of the American dream when Goldman Sachs recruited on his campus.
The clarity that came from 9/11
He reflects on how the attacks were a 'violent disruption' of his sense of control, dissolving his plans but delivering the realisation that there was a missing piece of the puzzle in his life.
From Wall Street to wellness chocolate
Kushal shares the journey from quantitative analyst to founder of Elements Truffles, explaining how entrepreneurship is a crash course in problem-solving and taught him patience in an 'analog world.'
The Institute of Absolute Intelligence
He explains the institute's scientific inquiry into consciousness, including intuition processes for children and the practice of scanning, framing the mind as a receiver tuned into an ocean of consciousness.
A live life scan demonstration
Annie undergoes a live scan in which Kushal surfaces themes around her writing, communication and storytelling strengths, leaving her feeling peaceful afterward.
Frequently asked questions
How did surviving 9/11 change Kushal Choksi's life?
Surviving the 9/11 attacks gave Kushal a sense of clarity that there was more to life than chasing bonuses and the American dream. It shattered his sense of control and acted as a wake-up call that eventually led him to learn meditation and pursue a more purposeful path beyond Wall Street.
What is SKY breath meditation?
SKY breath meditation is a breath work technique taught by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar that Kushal learned in New York in 2004. He describes it as a game changer that gave him the ability to quiet his mind, manage stress and tap into his inner voice.
What is a life scan and how is it different from seeing a psychic?
A life scan is a one-on-one meditative process in which a trained practitioner taps into consciousness to surface a person's strongest impressions, tendencies and possible future directions. Kushal explains it is not psychic or mediumship work but a deep dive into the shared consciousness that connects all people.
Why did Kushal Choksi leave finance to start a chocolate company?
After his finance career and a machine learning startup called Hubble, Kushal wanted to do something completely different that followed his heart. He and his wife both loved chocolate and wanted to create a food product with genuine nutritional value, which began as a passion project at a farmers' market and grew into Elements Truffles.
What advice does Kushal Choksi give young professionals who feel out of alignment?
He advises spending a few minutes each day meditating and learning a breathing technique to clear the mental impressions accumulated from social media and information overload. Tending to your inner dimension, he says, brings true happiness and control and helps you reconnect with your purpose.
Who is Kushal Choksi?
Kushal Choksi
Intuitive Life Scanner/Author/CEO
Kushal Choksi is a 9/11 survivor, entrepreneur, author and spiritual trainer based in New York. He began his career as a quantitative analyst at Goldman Sachs, rising to VP, and later worked in portfolio roles before founding a machine learning startup called Hubble. He now co-runs Elements Truffles, an ethically driven, wellness-inspired chocolate company, alongside his wife, works as an intuitive life scanner, and sits on the US board of the International Association for Human Values.
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