My agency was awarded funding it provide empowerment groups as a component to reducing the risk of foster care placement for their children. This was intended as an educational series addressing issues such as nutrition, budgeting, depression, asthma, etc. I was a guest speaker for one of these sessions and the topic of the day was stress management. I had full intentions of doing what most hypnotists would do, that is, to demonstrate a guided imagery and teach self-hypnosis. Thankfully, spontaneity took over and I introduced them to the "Circle of Excellence". Due to my experience with their inability to forge a bright future because they were "swimming in the goldfish bowl of the here and now", I felt that this was an opportune moment to invite them to create their future in their minds. After all, are not the beginning seeds of success found in our own unconscious minds?

The results were astounding and certainly exceeded my expectations tenfold. Given the chance, each person was able to create their own "success zone". In addition, they were able to put into their circle what they saw lacking in their lives. They started out timidly, but became more forceful, determined and specific in their desires. It was almost as if you saw them walking down the beach with empty pails, and by the conclusion of the exercise, their pails were overflowing with pebbles, shells, leaves, pinecones and other treasures.

I am a firm believer that we need to offer the service and politely respect our boundaries, while gently inviting our clients to the next level of greatness, self-fulfillment, and self satisfaction. Keeping this in mind, I invited them to add more and more to their circle. I kept asking for more until they told me that they could no longer think of anything else that would make their circle any better than it was. It was indicative just how much these women felt they were lacking. Once I invited them to dream, I could not stop the floodgates. It was evident by the expressions on their faces that they had met up with wonder and fantasy, of the likes they had not ever experienced before. You could see they were tapping into possibilities they never imagined in their wildest imaginations. Aside from the twinkle in their eye and their broad smiles from ear to ear, I was even able to detect an improvement in posture. This was indeed a proud group of women.

What made it even more exciting was that they were encouraging each other with sincere applause every time a participant put something into their circle. The extroverts encouraged the introverts to adapt a positive outlook and an "I can do anything" attitude. Group members even challenged each other and helped to quantify each other’s goals. They called each other to task, reminding group members to include certain items they may have mentioned in passing. The energy between the participants was more powerful than my interventions. These women were so thrilled because they discovered a change in themselves and in each other in a very short time. Without any prompting on my part, all of the participants left the meeting proclaiming that they had received a valuable gift and promised that they would use their Circle of Excellence whenever they needed to.

It was intriguing that such a simple exercise can have such a profound impact. That morning, all of the tenents that I learned in graduate school about engagement, group dynamics, rapport, and self-determination came together in a most powerful and meaningful way. So, go on and dare to dream! Given the chance, what will your circle of excellence consist of today?