A serious principle from a funny guy: Justify your existence daily

As I began life after graduation from Miami University last summer, all I knew for sure was I would be a part of the Bleacher Report Sports Media Program. Through a series of fortunate connections, hard work and plenty of chances to prove myself, I’m now a full-time writer for the Breaking News Team.

Every day is a new opportunity to make a new mark. What has driven me is something profound I heard from standup comedian Joey Diaz—minus the profanity: “Justify your existence on a daily basis.”

As I was going through the rigors of the program, that stuck with me—and still translates to the work I do now.

Living up to that notion is a burdensome personal undertaking, but it gives me a constant chip on my shoulder in writing.

The Sports Media Program was extremely rewarding, but there were growing pains. Writing a higher volume than I was used to while still adhering to B/R quality standards and attempting to establish my own, distinct voice all at once was overwhelming.

I kept coming back to Diaz. I will not make a massive leap every day, but shooting for that as a goal continues to provide freshness to the writing grind.

Bleacher Report being the sports provider for CNN supplies plenty of motivation, but the main, intrinsically fueled objective is simply for me to get better with each article.

B/R presents a great platform to show what you can do. By being proactive, taking advantage of opportunities and making the most of everything published, you can make all the hard work can pay off in a big way.

Gradual, steady improvement is what’s unlocked every door I’ve stepped through at this cutting-edge company, and the key for me has been the seven words that perpetually ring in my head.

“Justify your existence on a daily basis.”

I may not always reach that expectation, but amid the constantly changing media landscape and the competitiveness in online writing, it’s a nice target to aim for.

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Matt Fitzgerald is a Breaking News Writer. Follow him on Twitter @MattFitz_gerald.

One Thing You Need to Know is a series in which we ask members of the Bleacher Report Advanced Program in Sports Media to write about just that: One thing they’ve learned that they would pass along to other aspiring writers.