We all have people in our lives that either inspire us or bring us down.  I call the ones that bring us down basement people and I call the ones that pick us up balcony people.  The balcony people triumph in your accomplishments, they are your cheerleaders, the ones that will encourage you and bring you to new heights.  These are the people I choose to surround myself with.  You can pick them out pretty quickly – be around a person a few times and you should have them pegged by their conversation.  The balcony people will find positive in even the not so good situations – they will see the light even in the dark.  Then there's the basement people – these are the ones that will complain, can't see the good in anything and seem to want to bring you down with them.  They will find reason to complain and find everything wrong with a situation.  They exude negativity and won't be happy until they transfer their negative ideas and energy to someone else.  Bottom line – they will drain you and you'll feel exhausted after leaving their presence.  Sometimes you'll even feel as if something hit you.  They are the joy busters.  The great news is that we have a choice to either be around these types of people or not.  So ask yourself, do I want to be around balcony people and have them lift me up or do I want to be around basement people and go down to the dark abyss of negativity with them.  Now ask yourself what type of person am I?  Am I a balcony person – singing, dancing on the platform of life or am I a basement person bringing others down and stealing their and most importantly your own joy?  It's time to go out there and dance to sing our songs of joy!

mRemember, may the possibilities of today excite us!