A Slice of my Mind - with Sautéed Mushrooms

 You ask; just what is the W.I.I.F.M. Bucket .. ?

Simply put it is the “What’s In It For Me Bucket”

This simple concept comes into play every day and in all aspects of our lives. In a restaurant we ask will I like the taste, texture and will it satisfy my hunger? When buying a suit we ask does it fit properly, is it the right color and do we like the style?

In business this can and should be considered very carefully. The simple answer is MONEY but money in not the only consideration.

 For the artist, photographer and writer there are many more things to help fill the W.I.I.F.M. bucket other than money.

One of the most important is exposure.

 Will the right people get a opportunity to see our work. I know many people of great talent that will submit their work to get exposure and expect no direct monetary gain from it. Be sure that when you do “donate” your effort and time you put your best foot forward. It is very easy to say I am not making any money off of this so I will not put much effort into this but that would be a mistake. The end result should always represent you best effort.

Another is experience.

The best way to prefect something you do is to do it as much as possible. For the writer should write everyday but a writer with no audience is … well unseen. Being unseen will not help one to improve. There is a Japanese philosophy called Kaizen. Kaizen is the art of continual improvement. For those of us in the Creative Fields we need practice and Critical Input to achieve Kaizen. To have our work seen and to have it critiqued is a very valuable commodity.

Of course there are many more compelling elements to fill your W.I.I.F.M. bucket with. Tell me what your W.I.I.F.M. bucket is or should be filled with.

Where do we go to fill our buckets?

For the writer they can go to any number of publications. Small local publications are always looking for talent. But remember your bucket will not be filled with money. You can also blog and participate is Social Media “wait .. that is what I am doing right now”.

For the artist there are small local art shows where you can showcase your work. Sometimes you will be asked to pay a small fee to help offset the costs of the event. Also many businesses will show art in there lobbies and other areas in their facilities. They are usually very happy to let your work be on display for a time. With both of these options you will also have the opportunity to sell your work to anyone interested in owning it.

For the Photographer you can use a combination of all of these ideas.

On Line Resources.

Many Web Sites have much to offer. You can get objective critiques and exposure. For the artist there are sites like DeviantART http://www.deviantart.com/ to post your work and see the work of others. This is not the only site of this kind but it certainly is one of the largest.

So remember: Pay Attention to your W.I.I.F.M. Bucket

Please feel free to comment ….