It's 2010; a New Year; a new decade; and it's time to take control of our career. Why now? Why not? If you haven't taken steps to take command of your career, no time is better than RIGHT NOW. Why wait?

A quick self-assessment before we begin:

• Are you fully leveraging your strengths and maximizing your earning potential?
• Do you LOVE what you do for a living?
• Are you clearly on the road to achieving Career Success (as defined by you)?
• Are you routinely getting calls from network contacts about new and exciting career opportunities?

If you answered "no" to any of the above, then what indeed are you waiting for? Make the conscious decision, today, right now, that you're going to put yourself in the driver's seat of your career and accelerate your SUCCESS.

As we embark on the New Year, consider these 5 steps to super-charge your career success:

• Implement a Reading Program. How many books do you read each month? What magazines and periodicals do you subscribe to and read on a regular basis? Reading is one of the BEST ways to educate yourself, to stay current on the latest thinking in your profession, and to generate IDEAS -- ideas for professional improvement, ideas for personal improvement and ideas to become a better leader. Make a commitment this year to read AT LEAST on book each month focused on professional development or personal improvement. Keep a book in your briefcase, beside your favorite chair at home, at your desk at work. Make reading a HABIT.

• Surround Yourself with a Dream Team. Assembling and NURTURING a Dream Team will definitely springboard your career success. No one who achieves peak performance in their career does so alone...period. Make this the year that you consciously and thoughtfully assemble your Career Success Dream Team.

• Start a Blog. A great way to establish yourself as a credible expert in your field of play is to write (often and frequently) about topics pertinent to your expertise, your industry and/or to the services you offer as a professional. Sharing information is a gift to your network and a gift to the world at large. This year, start your own blog -- offer advice, tips, book reviews, and information relevant to your audience and target market. Begin with an article a week. Writing is an excellent means for learning and expanding your own knowledge base.

• Get Very Active on LinkedIn. I am thoroughly sold on the LinkedIn platform as a means of helping you develop a powerful network of connections. LinkedIn is NOT a "silver bullet" solution -- it's simply one of the tools you can use VERY EFFECTIVELY to create networking gravity.

Whether you're a job seeker, a seller of services, a seller of products, or someone seeking to leverage relationships to help achieve other business goals and objectives -- LinkedIn WILL work for you, if you focus sufficient time and effort. Check out these articles, all of which will help you leverage the power of LinkedIn.

• Fully Leverage Your Personal Brand. Your Personal Brand reminds people "who YOU are," it becomes "what YOU are known for," and it represents the "market" perception of your value proposition and personal competitive advantage. A highly effective Personal Branding Program is key to continuously communicating your Personal Brand "to the world" and constantly "pinging" your contact network with highly useful content that reminds them of who you are. This year, get clear on your Personal Brand and broadcast content relevant to your brand on a continuous basis.

Any ONE of the above steps, if fully implemented will help move you up a notch or two in your career development. But the REAL POWER is in working on ALL of them. Make this the year that you take charge of year career and launch yourself into the HOV lane of success.