Nothing is quite as depressing as the last week before a move. Boxes sit half-packed and pieces of furniture, having been sold, leave empty spaces as a constant reminder that things aren’t ever going to be the same as they were.

That’s probably why, prior to business school, I kept the same apartment for five years.  Granted, it didn’t hurt that life was a lot simpler then. Even so, I considered that apartment my base of operations and much like my current apartment, leaving it signifies much more than just a change in venue.

Normally, the feelings of change associated with a move out of one space are quickly replaced by the elation of a move into a new space. What happens though, when you move out of one space and into ambiguity?

Such is the life of the modern marketer.  Despite the metaphoric reality of my current situation I’ve seen appropriate correlations with marketers and their transition into the new realities of the marketplace.

Though we might not be completely moving out of old ways, the fact of the matter is that our lease on our traditional roles is almost up.

Even for interactive marketers, we have to be much more than just great creative thinkers.  We have to be technology evangelists, cross-functional power brokers and even visionary leaders of what relationships with customers can be.

Like many of my colleagues, I may not be completely sure where the road will lead me. When I pack up those boxes, their destination has yet to be selected.

The one thing I do know for sure; the one constant I can rely on is that the emotion I feel is not regret about what I’m leaving behind. It’s the hunger for something new and for something greater than myself. It’s the same feeling we should all feel about the new realities of our profession.

Change – being the only true constant – is only the chance for each of us to grow beyond where we have been into what we can be. For now though, the half-packed boxes will have to serve as a reminder both of that potential as well as the current situation.

The good news is that at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later, those boxes will have a destination. When they get there, they’ll be unpacked and it will be a new begining.

That is, until such time that it’s time to move again…