Toys!

Today is my last day in Denver and now it's back to Toronto for a 4-week Christmas break from travel. Time to play with the dog, do some Christmas shopping, and begin prepping for an incredibly busy Transformation Season starting on Wed, Dec 26th with our $100,000 ETR Transformation Contest. More details soon.

But yesterday was a big day.

It was our first ever EarlytoRise.com Toys for Tots drive here in Denver and thanks to 45 amazing friends and "family" members, we broke through our expectations.

The final tally is in and our ETR Network was able to purchase $60,065 in toys (over 2000 toys) for the Denver area Toys for Tots drive. Thank you to all readers that contributed to http://www.earlytorise.com/toysfortots/#

You can see some of the photos over on www.SuccessQnA.com including a picture of a giant flatbed  truck filled with Toys For Tots with the help of some Marines in Lakewood, Colorado.

Also had a couple of good questions on yesterday's Facebook QnA:

Q: What are the best 2 time management & productivity books you have read? - Andy

Answer:
1) No BS Time Management by Dan Kennedy
2) No BS Ruthless Management of People and Profits

Q: I am 25 and want to go into personal training. I have a biology degree but have not been able to get a stable job with it. (Currently making $12/hr). Would you recommend going back to pursue a masters to get a better job and doing personal training on the side? - Seth

Answer:

If you want to be a personal trainer, get a certification and more importantly, a mentor - find the best, most successful trainer in your area and do anything you possibly can to become their apprentice.

Today's Kickbutt Mindset Tips:
Focus on improving yourself and you’ll improve your lot in life. Focus on planning ahead to overcome obstacles, rather than reacting. Be a driver, not a reactionary. Be the cause, not the effect.

“Create a vision of who you want to be, and then live into that picture as if it were already true.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Stay strong and buy some toys for tots,

Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer

PS - Never forget...

The mistakes of your past are not who you are now. No matter what you've done in your life you have a second chance that starts today. It is your time to choose who you will be and who you will become, for the rest of your life. You are certainly not too old to add value to the world, to give, create or inspire. If you need to, let the past go and start fresh, right here, right now