Stupid People. How to deal with them.

You can’t live life without running into stupid people. And not just running into these people– them purposefully running unto you.

It’s the single biggest demotivating force on the face of the earth.

There is NOTHING more crippling than an awkward, unanticipated encounter with a stupid person. In seconds, a stupid person can strip you of decades of dream hunting — leaving you confused, shaken, and emotionally spent.

Whatever you do. Whatever you aspire to be. Wherever you want to be someday. You need to master the art of dealing with stupid people.

Get good at spotting them.

“Stupid people are like suicide bombers. There’s no good excuse to hang around them.”

They come in all shapes, colors, and religions. And they are all around you. Could be your boss, your minister, your spouse, or that dude in your car pool.

There aren’t wearing “I’m here to wreck your dream” stickers. They come disguised, so it can hard to spot them. Until they open up their mouth and talk to you. And then it becomes pretty clear that they are a stupid person.

Here’s what they say:

• That’ll never work…
• Bless your heart…
• I am only saying this because I care…
• Yes, BUT….
• Be reasonable…
• I’ve seen this before…
• You stole my idea…
• We’ll see how long that lasts…

Sound familiar?

That’s because these phrases are the patented trade secrets of the League of Stupid People. The uninspired whining of the “has been” champions of mediocrity.

And yet like a blow from Thor’s hammer, these words bring us to our knees — broken, disheartened, and questioning our very core values.

There’s only one thing to do.

Get good at handling them.

You aren’t strong enough to take on the chaotic whimsy of stupid people. Mistake numero uno is over-estimating your tolerance for mental harassment. You can’t hack it. And neither can I.

We break. And the bad guys win.

But the story doesn’t end there. Because all stupid people have the same weakness. They all share the same self-destruction sequence.

Stupid people fear you not caring about their opinions…

That momentary look of panic on your face. The stammering words that trickle out of your mouth. Those angry looks you shoot from the corner of your eyes.

That fear and fright you get from their words.

That turns them on.

Inside they are doing cartwheels.  Another “dream crushing” notch on their belt.  A job done well.

So when you don’t care what they think. When you ignore their insecurities and nonsense. When you just continue on with living your dream. When you do that.

You win and the stupid people lose.

But it’s not even really you versus them. It’s you living your dream and them fighting to destroy dreams — no matter what they are or who has them.

“So stand up for dreams…”

For your dreams. For your friends’ dreams. For the dreams that you are still to have in the future.

Do your part to stop stupid people.

Ignore them.

And if that wasn’t clear enough, here’s another 38 seconds I have on the subject: