By now, you've swallowed the only grapes you'll eat all year (seedless, I hope), trekked around the block with your neighbor's Samsonite, and safely placed the 10 mm AUTO Glock back in its holster.

A new beginning has commenced.

While we ceremoniously close the curtain on the first decade of the 21st century and look forward to what lies ahead, it's important to look back at the two decades that preceded before we do our best to emulate Walter Mercado. Let's face it, the internet changed our lives forever. The 1990's brought us the evolution of the world wide web. Email replaced the fax machine in many ways. It replaced paper, pen, and the telephone in ways we would have never imagined possible. The latter half of the past decade (the 00's) witnessed how social media (Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, blogs, all things Google, etc.) further changed not only the way we communicate and interact with each other, but more importantly, how it expanded the reach and influence of the individual. We no longer depend (or have to) on ABC, NBC, CBS, Univision, and The Miami Herald for information. Traditional media no longer controls the message. The average Joe (or Jose, depending on where you live) with a Flip can.

As we head into The Thank You Economy, an economy that thanks and rewards those who share intellectual property and educate for FREE, it's important to note that having the prettiest website and optimizing it to place first on Google for whatever search term tickles the owner's pickle alone will not be enough. Heck, talent alone is not enough. Being the valedictorian of your high school and placing Magna Cum Laude at Florida International University means shit. The colorful cords you walked down the aisle with over your gown? Use them as jump ropes. Better yet, keep 'em handy in case frustration at your corporate rat race sets in. 

Passion, hard work, and outhustling the competitor is "the play" in the coming decade. Come to think of it, that's always been "the play" no matter if it was a typewriter or a MacBook being used. Stop waiting, stop whining, stop complaining, stop wishing, and start doing. Opportunity is everywhere. It is our obligation to our generation and the ones that follow to be great. It is our obligation to push ourselves and those around us to show gratitude, compassion, and inspire. It is our obligation not to choose mediocrity. It is our obligation not to accept unethical behavior. It is our obligation not to allow social injustice.

The choice is ours. Only we can choose to put down the TiVo remote, the Xbox 360 paddles, and the Rock Band® guitar and get to work.

Good luck and Happy New Year.