Keith is a dad. A husband. A systems thinker. An entrepreneur. A founder of SYPartners. A founder of kyu (a creative collective). A stroke sufferer. A photographer. Artist. A passionate participant in making a more equitable, inclusive, creative world. Below, he shares his story and hopes you’ll share yours in return. You can also find his story in the May 2019 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.

The warning signs of my impending stroke were there, but I didn’t fully hear and see them. What are the warning signs in your life?

Your intuition is always whispering to you. Take a moment to listen to what your intuition is telling you—about something that did happen, that is happening, or might happen in your life in the future.

Grab a pen and a notebook and write down your list of intuitions, inklings, premonitions, or ‘vague sense of what is to come.’ Deep down, you know much more than you think you do.

Look at that list. What deserves your attention? What are you avoiding? What negative thing awaits?

How was that? Questions? Ideas? Email us.

In the aftermath of what has happened (big or small), you must reckon. I describe the darkness I encountered after my stroke, in hopes it helps you face your own.

Before you can fuel your renewal, you must grieve what you have lost—truly sit with it. Because only then can you appreciate what you have kept, and where the light gets in.

Grab a pen and a notebook and write two lists:

1) What has been stolen

2) What has been kept

How was that? Questions? Ideas? Email us.

Your renewal starts by confronting negative beliefs. I share one of mine, so you can confront one of yours.

Often bad things that have happened to us get more and more exaggerated in our minds as we grow older. They warp our beliefs about ourselves. To bust those beliefs, you have to first befriend them.

Grab a pen and a notebook—and write a list of the negative beliefs that you hold. And, if you can, the story, moment, or period in your life when they started. This might come easily for you. Or, in my case, I really had to dig.

How was that? Questions? Ideas? Email us.

Sometimes the best way to fuel your renewal is to consider the life you deeply want to live.

One way to do that is to create a funeral songs list—what you’d want to play at your own funeral to represent the joyous, full, and amazing life you led.

Take a listen to #myfuneralsongs playlist below, or join me on Spotify.

Now, go make your own funeral songs list.

Envision the life you want to live.

Find songs and lyrics that you love that capture that life.

Now share it with people you love—on social media, tag it #MyFuneralSongs (so we can all find each other’s playlists).

How was that? Questions? Ideas? Email us.

Renewal happens when you fully appreciate your one and precious life. I’m going to lead you through a meditation. Please find a quiet safe space to sit, and be prepared to reflect, engage, and even shed a few tears.

A forewarning: This is poignant, personal, and potentially triggering work.

Special thanks to Jade Leblanc (@JadeAlectra), for sharing this with me, so I can share it with you.

How was that? Questions? Ideas? Email us.

I am writing a book about renewal (I am in the first stages). Do you want sneak peeks? Sign up.