livetwelve.com Blog

Every once in a while, you unknowingly say or do something that impacts another person in a positive way. I had that experience on Monday playing in a golf tournament with someone I have known for a very long time, but have never had the pleasure of playing golf with or knowing outside of the professional spectrum.

It was an enjoyable day on the course.  We had a lot of fun; talked about a lot of different things and did quite well considering the conditions.  We played about 8 holes in the rain and the remaining 10 in very wet conditions.  It was a scramble….we shot 7 under and finished a couple of shots outside of the money.

Anyway, when I got back into the office on Tuesday morning, I recieved the following message from one of my peers in our foursome:

Thanks so much for a wonderful day that I personally really needed.   YOU made a positive difference in my life…”

What my friend didn’t realize is that I had just gotten back from a trip to Vegas where I had played two rounds of golf that I could easily describe as the two worst rounds I have played in at least 5 years.  I am also pretty certain that he didn’t realize the impact he had on me by telling the stories he told and how that loosened me up to be the best I could be that day.  So, he was wrong about not contributing.  He did contribute………

I gues the moral of this story is to be positive every day in everything you do.  You never know what your impact might be on the people you encounter throughout the course of lifes daily activities.  I think both my golf buddy and I epitomized the concept of 12n it  on that very, very wet day.

We can either decide to control our attitudes or let them control us.  You choose!!!!!

LiveTwelve started as a way to motivate the people in my department at work. We had recently taken part in the Gallup Poll, which uses twelve questions to measure how fully an employee is engaged. In anticipation of a department-wide meeting in which I would stress the importance of being fully engaged, I began tossing out the word twelve or the number twelve as often as I could. I used it when signing off in e-mails. I used it in place of the usual greetings when passing colleagues in the hallways. I sometimes answered the phone with “Twelve!” and was known to use it as a random interjection throughout the course of the day.

I’m sure that at the beginning, people at the office thought that “twelve” was the number of days in which the men in white uniforms would come to put me in the padded hold of an asylum van, but before long, they began using it too. It seemed to spread like wildfire. Even though people still didn’t know the method behind this madness, we all began using it to wish good luck, to have fun, and to give 100%. Business associates began using it. Golf buddies began using it. It spread throughout our family, the workplace, school and social circles.

By then, “twelve” had taken on a life of its own and it no longer applied to just being fully engaged at work: it meant being fully engaged in LIFE, and I realized that it was how I wanted to live MY life. The word “twelve” now evokes a sense of power one can apply to daily living. “Twelve” means to live your passion, whatever that may be, with full engagement, commitment, happiness, and integrity.  Focusing on happiness and integrity.  Life is too short to do anything without being happy and bottom line is that you need to be able to look in the mirror and be happy with who and what you see.  No one can honestly do that without a high level of integrity!!

The number 12 seems to pop up everywhere. If you truly pay attention, you will be amazed at how many times a day you will come into contact with that number. So when you come across it, use it as a reminder to LiveTwelve. You’ll be happy you did!!!!