The revolution is happening and I’ve got mixed feelings. Positive attitudes, goal setting and self improvement is all good stuff but I'm not yet sold. I spent the weekend at one of these motivational, NLP style seminars. My friend had a free ticket so I thought I might as well have a go at fixing my problems. Chris Howard was the feisty guru at the helm of the proceedings. Sporty and clean-cut, he reminded me a bit of a sports coach with lots of hi-5’s, whooping and hollering. Full of spunky energy and vitality, Chris urged us all to get up and take ACTION and achieve our DREAMS!

As expected, I did have some breakthroughs. I probably hi-5ed and hugged more people than ever in my life. I got to the root of some of my unresolved issues, learned to overcome some of my long standing fears and even banished a few demons. I also learned new technologies for severing restrictive emotional ties and staying focused on positive outcomes and replacing negative fears and insecurities. Yes, I was grateful for the things I learned from Chris Howard. It was powerful stuff.

So why did I wake up feeling a bit sick this morning? Maybe the thing I found disturbing was the relentless emphasis on sales. Though I understand the necessity of sales to keep the enterprise going, I didn’t entirely agree with the excessivness. But the seminar was a big, bold, exuberant and pricey production and the hardcore sales seemed to be necessary to sustain it. I should be used to it. After all, I am American and sales is today a large part of American culture. But I thought I had escaped all of that, by living as I do in the UK. Chris Howard seems like a nice enough guy and his heart is in the right place, but somebody needs to speak to him about the virtues of balance, moderation and modesty.

At one point this weekend an audience member spoke about having attempted suicide a few years earlier. This was a truly troubled soul. Chris at first blurted “You know if I were you, I would spend every dime of my salary on self-improvement.” but then he retracted ”...no uh... not every dime, but I would spend 1/3 of my income on self-improvement.” In other words, sign up for Chris’s courses which start at $2,000. This really began to make me feel uncomfortable. Does Chris Howard really believe his own hype? Here was a vulnerable person and Chris Howard seemed to be viewing him as a checkbook. What was he programming this guy's brain with? This man Chris Howard had some powerful tools but I wasn't sure I trusted him. The average American child is said to watch an average of 6 hours of tv a day. Surely advertisors have heard of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming)? Does this explain the dumbing down of America? Are we all just checkbooks?

According to Chris Howard, if you work hard enough and program your mind to overcome limiting beliefs, the sky is the limit to what you can achieve. While this is true, he forgot to mention that there also needs to be an emphasis on doing more good than harm. After all, George Bush has been an overachiever when it comes to destroying the US Constitution and evaporating civil rights. He’s a done a remarkable job of killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqi’s and Afghani’s.

Excessiveness is the hallmark of modern life in the USA. Excessive consuming and spending is the big issue today. But is all this excessiveness necessary? Is it really important to grab as much as you can get your hands on? And what will it cost? Yes the sky is the limit when it comes to what you can achieve, but are your goals worthy? I am reminded of that old saying. “Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it.” The dollar is eroding at a rapid pace and the deficit is beyond scarey. The real estate market is crashing and there is much talk of a financial crisis larger than anything seen since the great depression of 1929. It is said this could even trigger a Global Economic Crash. Is it really time for more exuberance? Is the sky really the limit? Should we be shooting for more, more, more?

Later he summoned his girlfriend on stage with him. Earlier he had said “I’m gonna introduce you later to my girlfriend. She’s looking HOT today!” On cue, the girlfriend sashayed onto the stage complete with the standard regulation sexy pose. She performed as a perfect walking cliché of an ideal woman should. All flashing teeth and curves, she said nothing but smiled and kissed Chris, who beamed with pride at his “achievement”. Then she sashayed sexily off with another flashing smile and a wave. It was all a bit stomach churning.

We forgave him though, because he was a nice guy and had good intentions really. And he had shown us so many amazing things this weekend. But you know what they say about the road to hell... Is it good enough that most Americans are basically decent folks with hearts of gold? Is ignorance a good enough defence in light of what the excessiveness in the culture has done recently to the larger world?

I don’t really know the answer because like the seminar, there seems to be so much good that has come from this culture. The American boundless enthusiasm, spirit and ambition has brought so much to the planet. At the same time, the current situation in Iraq and Afghanistan is pretty nightmarish. The American entrepreneurial spirit of enterprise and achievement has enriched the world, but it’s over selling, over production, over consumption and over reaching is raping the planet.

So are good intentions good enough?