William Eckstrom is the President and founder of the EcSell Institute. Bill has spent his entire career in the sales arena; the first 14 years in personal production and then 13 in various sales leadership roles. His management career began in 2000 as a District Manager for a medical equipment company and was promoted to U.S. Director of Sales in 2003. In 2004, Bill was lured away to become Senior Vice President of Business Development for a publicly traded healthcare organization. In 2008, he founded the EcSell Institute to fill a void he witnessed and personally experienced in the sales leadership Favorite Success Quote “The constant facade of order hides the wilderness that is craving to seek out and teach us that life wasn’t created to be what we think it is. Beyond words we must experience the wilderness to be taught what otherwise cannot be known.” ~Dr. Serene Jones Key Points 1. We Only Grow in a State of Discomfort  We live in an age of unprecedented comfort. Things are easier today in 2017 (or whenever you are reading this) than they have ever been before. If we get hot, we turn up the AC. If we get bored, we open up YouTube. If we are hungry, we order a pizza. Life is too darn easy! And with this ease, has come a disease that is plaguing society. The disease of stagnation. The more comfortable you become, the less drive and ambition you have to grow, create, and build a better life for yourself. The more comfortable you become, the easier it is to relegate your dreams, desires, and aspirations to the realm of “someday”. Unless you are facing massive discomfort in your life, then odds are, you are slowly dying. True growth, real, visceral growth is always predicated by discomfort. If you are living a mediocre life and want to break free to achieve levels of success and happiness that you have been searching for for so long, then you must get uncomfortable. It’s as simple as that. It’s not pretty and it’s not easy… but it is the truth. You need to actively seek out discomfort in your career, your personal growth, and your physical health. If your job isn’t inspiring you, then find ways that you can take on new and uncomfortable responsibilities or quit. If you are not growing as a man and becoming stronger and more grounded each and every day, then find mentors and friends inspire you to level up your game and quit playing it small. If you are not constantly pushing the limits of your body and breaking through to new feats of strength, speed, and agility, then get your butt in the gym today and start sculpting yourself into a stronger man. Gentlemen, if you are not growing you are dying. It’s time to cut the crap and start living life. And it all starts by stepping outside what is easy and embracing discomfort. 2. Focus on Yourself First If you have ever been on an airplane, then you are well aware of the boring (and often ignored) safety briefings at the beginning of each flight. But if you pay special attention during those briefings you will notice something interesting. The flight attendants will always tell you that, in the event of a crash, you need to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before helping anyone around you, including your children. And while this might sound selfish and downright barbaric to some of you, it comes with good reason. If you black out on during the crash while trying to help someone else, then what have you accomplished? You have likely killed yourself and sealed the other person’s fate as well. And this lesson is applicable in all areas of life. If you are not taking care of yourself, if you are not taking the time to grow yourself, mentally, spiritually, and professionally, then what use do you have to the rest of the world? If you are so strung out on projects and problems that you can’t think straight and need a double shot of espresso and a line of cocaine just to function, do you really think that you will be able to be the man that you woman needs you to be? That your family ne