UBERLUMEN: The Blog of Andrew Lawson

I REALLY needed this one this week! Enjoy! And Share your thoughts!  Read More

I just wished for: 'Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Life and Work... via @ amazon http://t.co/w5xLb4gg # The Coaches Book Club http://t.co/flMJnOAa via @ amazon # UBERLUMEN Newsletter, December 2011 - http://t.co/FmRYp6uG # Join our Coaches Book Club! http://t.co/XkU2ISi7 # Do you love books?Do you love coaching?Then JOIN US at ...  Read More

Have you ever wondered what your one sentence is? Or could be? In my coaching it is: I want to help you discover your abundant light. What is your one sentence?  Read More

In today's excerpt - astronomers and physicists are now grappling with evidence that suggests that all the things we can observe in the universe with even the most powerful telescopes is only four percent of what is there. The rest, they posit, is dark matter and dark energy: "In 1610 Galileo announced to the world that by observing the heavens through a new instrument - what we would call a...  Read More

Over and Over again the research is CRYSTAL CLEAR. Gratitude works. Those who take a moment every day to list what they are grateful for lead better lives. So this Thanksgiving, try a serving of gratitude! New York Times OnlineFindings: A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day The most psychologically correct holiday of the year is upon us. Thanksgiving may be the holiday from hell for...  Read More

I did a service project this week with my church group. We went to serve Chili to 300 homeless people. What a powerful reminder of all that we have. We are SO rich and we really don't realize it. The images of these poor souls are etched on my mind. What would it look like to serve every day? What would it look like to be grateful every day, all day? What would it look like to "put on" our...  Read More

Wouldn't it be great if your physician was willing to have a mentor now and then to sharpen his skills? I recently mentioned this idea to some physician friends of mine, and they immediately said, "Very few doctors will every go for that idea." I was really saddened by their comments, but I am not going to give up on this powerful idea. Let me know your thoughts after you read this ground...  Read More

Wow! Really? One of the themes of the coaching world is: Celebrate Failure! In this New York Times article Paul Tough points out that the students that stay in college are not necessarily the super smart, super students. It turns out it is the student that has exceptional character strengths (e.g. optimism and persistence and social intelligence). These are the students who can recover from...  Read More

I have recently had some interesting conversations with 20-somethings who are STRESSED! Stressed about relationships, about school, about work, about life. They feel overwhelmed and anxious. I have recently had some interesting conversations with 30-somethings who are STRESSED! Kids running around zapping their intimacy, chaos creating lack of connection, overworked, overwhelmed, etc. I have...  Read More

At the top of my website there is a link to a page that explains what coaching is all about, but words can't do coaching justice. I have found a great video to explain in a mystical, right brain kind of way what coaching is like. So humor me....any thoughts?? 2 Common themes explored in coaching are: values and saboteurs. This video starts with a great example of saboteur(s). It is that...  Read More

The high energy cases. The patients that take up all the time, effort, AND ENERGY always seem to be the ones that create the most discussion and stress among us (doctors, nurses, etc.). We always raise such a fuss and express so much frustration, anxiety, and stress when the 'difficult' patient arrives. You know the ones: too much alcohol, too much craziness, too much neediness... When these...  Read More

My son came home from high school today sharing the story of cat girl with us. There is a girl in several of his classes that wore cat ears and face painted cat whiskers to school today. The teacher asked why she was dressed up like a cat, and she announced to the class that it is October, and she dresses up as something new every day in the month of October. I LOVE it! I told my son that is a...  Read More

One of the fundamental principles of coaching is the practice of what I call "Present Perfect": the art of being in the now here (Brennan Manning is known for saying that you are either Now Here or Nowhere). This practice is known by other names such as process or mindfulness. The lack of mindfulness or living in the now creates a frantic pace to our lives that is fraught with stress, limiting...  Read More

"That's the way music is constructed..." What was that? Have you ever had one of those moments when time 'stands still'? An epiphany type moment? I love them, but most of the time I step right over them! My friend and music scholar pointed out that classical musical pieces are constructed in a certain way, and he used Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata as an illustration. The 1st and 3rd movements...  Read More

Last weekend my wife and I were invited to our friends 50th birthday party. Their family has a tradition at birthdays: Affirmations. Each of the family members will affirm the birthday person. We have started this tradition in our family as well. It is interesting to watch other's reaction to affirmations. If you are like me, I squirm, cringe, and struggle to truly accept the affirmation. It...  Read More

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I am in the process of building my coaching practice. I LOVE coaching, but the marketing piece....not so much. When I ask around & share the incredible testimonials from those who I have coached, most people think or say, "I don't need coaching...but I might know a guy who could use some coaching..." I clearly will never be a 'marketeer' but coaching is not what someone else could 'use' or...  Read More

I found this excerpt about musical notes very timely and interesting. As most of you know, I am finishing up credentialing in Professional Coaching. It has been an incredible adventure. As I reflect on my many learning's, I was reminded by this excerpt on musical notes that our lives are filled with "music". The music of life is our unique musical piece. We each have different values which...  Read More

"Going in one more round when you don't think you can - that's what makes all the difference in your life."-Sylvester Stallone as Rocky in "Rocky IV" So where is your "inner Rocky"? Where are you wanting to stop, to toss in the towel and climb out of the ring? What is the opponent that is towering over you? (excerpt from Ben Dooley)  Read More

What would healthcare look like if your doctor did 'laser coaching'? What if doctors were trained in 'coaching' their patients? Here is a link to an article that explores the use of inspiration and motivation in interviewing patients with diabetes. http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/19/1/5.full What if this was the way doctors approached their patients???  Read More

4 Ways to Open Your Eyes to Reality Margaret Heffernan's new book -- Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril -- couldn't be timelier. It tackles a phenomenon that underlies many of the most outrageous disasters of recent years, from Enron to the massive fraud perpetrated by Bernie Madoff: The refusal face facts. Heffernan nicely blends personal stories, headline events, and...  Read More

Who is your caddy? Who is handing you the right club? How do you see the field in front of you?  Read More

This is a movie/documentary that is a tribute to a man who has been able to overcome his troubled past to impact the lives of many as well as their horses. It is rare to find a man who has overcome the 'upper limit problem' that his father had so severely wounded him with. This movie is a powerful reminder of who we can become despite our past hurts and wounds. If you get a chance to watch...  Read More

Excerpt from article: Leadership: Uncommon Sense , Page 11 • by Bob Anderson • The Leadership Circle ( http://www.theleadershipcircle.com/site/pdf/pp-leadership-uncommon-sense.pdf ) PURPOSE Warren Bennis, in his book On Becoming a Leader , states that all of the leaders he interviewed agreed on the following points: They all agree that leaders are made, not born, and made more by themselves...  Read More

The Genius in All of Us by Shenk points out that it is not about an IQ number. One example is seen by a group of uneducated factory workers who had developed the capacity to perform highly complex mathmatics so they wouldn't have to bend over so much at work. When a complicated order for many different kinds of milk cartons was given to them, they would quickly figure out a way to package the...  Read More

Nerve by Taylor Clark is a great read. It is an entertaining and insightful look into fear. He shares some key methods to deal with fear, anxiety, and stress. I didn't say overcome fear because our fears are here to stay (for the most part). The hero's of the world acknowledge the fear and move forward with it. Lesson #12: Open up to fear unconditionally."There's nothing wrong with feeling...  Read More

Nerve by Taylor Clark is a great read. It is an entertaining and insightful look into fear. He shares some key methods to deal with fear, anxiety, and stress. I didn't say overcome fear because our fears are here to stay (for the most part). The hero's of the world acknowledge the fear and move forward with it. Lesson #11: Keep your eyes on a guiding principle."Fear, anxiety, and stress can...  Read More

Nerve by Taylor Clark is a great read. It is an entertaining and insightful look into fear. He shares some key methods to deal with fear, anxiety, and stress. I didn't say overcome fear because our fears are here to stay (for the most part). The hero's of the world acknowledge the fear and move forward with it. Lesson #10: Build faith in yourself."...developing confidence that you can handle...  Read More

Nerve by Taylor Clark is a great read. It is an entertaining and insightful look into fear. He shares some key methods to deal with fear, anxiety, and stress. I didn't say overcome fear because our fears are here to stay (for the most part). The hero's of the world acknowledge the fear and move forward with it. Lesson #9: Joke around."...thinking playfully or joking in a stressful situation...  Read More

"Why are there so many mean, cheating, cussing, crazy students at school, Dad?" This is how my most recent discussion with my 14 year old son started the other day. I went on to explain to him one of the reasons why teens are impulsive, risky, rude, 'crazy', get in car accidents, experimented with illicit drugs, and talk about and have sex. Answer: overactive nucleus accumbens & not enough...  Read More