Road Rage is a terrifying thing.  

It starts off when someone does something to slight another driver...and then it escalates to the point where the actions become crazy and downright scary.

It's the same when an email exchange turns nasty.  This happens often, and it happens with friends, business partners and even co-workers.

I was involved in one of those recently, and had the good sense to not inflame the situation by responding.  Sometimes it is better to walk away.

Here's what you can do to avoid these things:

1. Pick up the phone:  Sometimes, we read things in email that aren't in real life.   When we do that, we inflame the situation by responding.  Instead, try to pick up the phone and call the other person.  It works. This is always the best way to settle it.  People tend to be more level headed over the phone and they tend not to over-react in person.
2. Walk Away:  Don't respond.  Understand that the other person may be having a bad day or may be looking for a fight.  You don't have to be a part of it.  Chances are that if you ignore it, the person will stop inflaming the situation and forget about it.  You can chose whether you want to continue talking with this person again.  If you have to work with them, then you may want to weigh your options if this is a regular occurance.  
3. Kill them with Kindness:   My father used to tell me to do this to people.  Make light of the situation and don't feed the troll.  Agree with them, tell them that they are correct, and move on.  Be careful...this may make the person even more mad.
4. Sever ties with this person:  Sometimes, these people are more trouble than they are worth.  A wise person once told me not to get in a pissing war with a....well you know.

Have a great weekend, and keep fighting the good fight.

Attitude is everything. 

When I am in a good mood, I sell. When I am not in a good mood, I don’t sell. Sometimes, it really is that
simple.

People don’t like to be around grumpy people. I tell my
son Phillip this all the time. Don’t you want to be around happy people?

I saw an article today on my LinkedIn newsfeed which brings that point home.

21 Habits of Happy People

What you can do to avoid messing up:

 1.    “Fake it ‘til you make it”: I have heard many times that when you smile, endorphins in your brain start working, and it makes you happy. I am assuming that this is true because it works for me.

2.    Be grateful for everything. This may be difficult for some of you but think about this:  

• I live better than more than 95% of all people on this green earth.
• I always have food on my plate for dinner if I want it.
• When it rains, snows, or is cold, I can go inside if I want.
• I am a somewhat healthy guy, as is my family.

If you can say these four things (or even three) then you have the right to be grateful… even happy.

3.    Do things that you enjoy often. If you like music, then listen to it when you are feeling down. If you have a lot of things on your mind stressing yourself out, go for a run or a bike ride. 30 minutes can reset your brain. Works for me. Find what makes you happy… no drugs please.

4.    If you are always grumpy at work, maybe you aren’t in the right business. A work life devoid of fun really sucks.  

5.    When I walk in the office in the morning, I walk past the front desk and say “Howdy!” It’s a running joke because my receptionist always tells me that I am way too happy. You can’t be too happy… or too rich.

6.    Stay away from the “Negative Nancys” in your life. When I was halfway done with this book, I was talking to a friend about it. He shot me an email telling me not to bother. “Don’t waste your time”, “You have no street cred” and “Who is going to read this book?” It was then that I realized that I didn’t care about who buys this book and if I sell 10 copies, I will still be happy that I got off my butt and wrote a book. While my inspiration probably was not his intent, his email inspired me more...btw, have you bought my book yet?  CLICK HERE