Be entertained with Teddy and his favorite washcloth… which kind of reminds me of my title, mind spinning… He looks like a Ninja.

I start my day very early, often at 5am and often I spend time reading blogs, checking links from friends on Facebook and Twitter and trying to focus on where I am headed. Not just for the day but for the future. It can be mind spinning. There are so many opportunities out there today.

It is also my favorite time to write blog posts. I love the early mornings that seem to clarify my thinking and energize my day.

Some mornings take me in many directions but all of them tie together in a way. I end up thinking about the impact that this thing we call Social Media (for lack of a better name) has had on my life. We often hear from people who don’t understand this new world that it all has to do with either wasting time or marketing.

For me, neither are true. I liken my social media experience to the college of my dreams. I need to limit my time but I have found so many resources to help me grow in multiple directions since I wandered onto first, LinkedIn, then Twitter, then Facebook. I use them differently and interactively. Many of my contacts or connections are in more than one place.

Very recently, I launched the Design Resumes Facebook page, if you read any day’s posts on the Facebook page (such as December 28) you will get an idea of where my research and reading takes me. I think about the people I would never know about without social media and the people I would never have interacted with without social media. I would be missing so much.

I see 2010 as an adventure about to begin! I have done considerable research into some of the possible directions that I will go in 2010 but largely I see it as an open door. I am careful in decision-making but I try not to throw away ideas just because they are unusual. This willingness to look at things opened many doors in 2009 and led me to make the big decision of letting go of my role as Wausau Whitewater’s Operations Manager to focus on running Design Resumes and letting it grow.

A client was here yesterday (amazingly at 6:30am!) and we were talking about some of the choices both he and I were making. And we talked about people who couldn’t make choices, who remained afraid of doing something different. This man is a long time client so I have watched his goals change but at the same time, I have watched his successes. He is not afraid of launching something new. He is logical, detail-oriented, and very hard-working. He is willing to innovate and just do something new. He’s a person I look forward to seeing because I know that I can throw a new idea at him and he will evaluate it and give me sound feedback. But he will never tell me to abandon it, just because it is mind spinning.

As you look at options, career choices and how you will approach 2010, keep an open mind. Open the door to new ways of looking at things, open the door to seeking out experts, and don’t let fear trap you into doing things the same way. Sometimes, the things that seem “mind spinning” are opportunities that could change your life.

Let me know what you think. As always, talk to me. I talk back!