Narcissism. We see narcissists everywhere--in politics, in our friend groups and often even at work.

What should you do if you encounter a client who is misinformed and unwilling to listen to good advice? Worse, what if your efforts to advise the client result in the client becoming even more stuck in his or her position and angry about even discussing what's wrong?

What should you do if you encounter a client who lies, cheats, and eventually steals from you? That's what happened to Cynthia, who provided various marketing and PR services to a client I'll call Derrick, to protect the identity of the innocent and guilty.

I began thinking about dealing with impossible or difficult clients after my own nightmare in working with a client who kept making mistakes, resulting in the client and her family spending hours correcting these mistakes, and then correcting these corrections.

The sooner you can use mindfulness during any encounter the sooner you and the other person can move on in a positive way. If you have any other mindfulness techniques that have been effective in dealing with difficult people, please share them below.

Perhaps such reframing of "difficult" to "normal" can help us relax a bit when it comes to thinking about constructive responses to people by whom we feel besieged.