Other articles by Dale Dauten:

Dale Dauten: Those who don't take the money and run find firm, CEO are a blastDale Dauten: Obsession to reduce staff became ultimate gaffeDale Dauten: Leave 'em wanting more so they'll want you to present more oftenDale Dauten: What happens if high tech and imagination hook upDale Dauten: Look at quality of applicant's workDale Dauten: How a little flap brought down a village's economyDale Dauten: In world of business, if it works then it must be eth... if it's legalDale Dauten: What end-of-the-world scenario will make us fret next?Dale Dauten: Maybe it's time to look at Google as part of brainDale Dauten: The only thing we have to fear is ... well, FDR knew

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"I am thinking of buying a Wii soon, but I really want to rationalize my purchase."

That message was posted on a Web site for gamers by someone calling himself "wookieassassin." He went on to worry that there were too few Wii games to his liking, which yielded a response that included this advice:

"Just be patient or buy some clothes."

Ah, such pleasant problems. But while we all have different decisions to make, we tend to make them in the same way, and I commend wookieassassin for owning up to what that is: rationalization.

The reason I happened upon a gaming Web site discussing the Wii system was because I had hoped Google could find for me a quote that went something like this: "You can rationalize any purchase if the desire for it is strong enough." I never did find the exact quote, but the sentiment deserves consideration because rationalization may be our greatest American art.

What got me thinking about rationalization was an offbeat movie called "The Amateurs." I've yet to find anyone who's seen the movie, but it came out on DVD earlier this year and caught my eye because it's the story of a loser determined to become a business success, and because it stars one of my favorites, Jeff Bridges.

The Bridges character recruits half a dozen friends to go into business with him, each putting up two grand. The venture turns out to be the making of a porno film. (There's no nudity in "The Amateurs"; when the characters get around to filming sex scenes, the crew, including the cameramen, politely turn their backs.)

But here's the point: Do a handful of small-town, small-change guys have any reason to believe that they could succeed in this, or any, business? Their answer is yes, they do. Why? As Bridges says, "I have a feeling."

How often have we all heard "I have a feeling"? Isn't it interesting how we can use an emotion as evidence in building a rational case for any undertaking. Bridges later adds, "I bet you anything: You look through history and the best stuff didn't come from guys knowing what they were doing; it came from guys who really tried hard and cared like hell."

The "wanting it" theme recurs when one of the characters decides he should be both writer and director of the film. His qualifications, other than working as a clerk at a booth called "4 Day Photo," is having taken a film course. Here's how he pitches himself to Bridges: "When you yelled out the other night that we were going to make a film, it was honestly a sign from God for me. . . . I've never known anything, or felt anything, so clearly in my life — what I'm meant to be, my destiny, is to be a director."

Bridges is persuaded. When questioned about it, he replies passionately, "What do you want me to do — do you want me to, what, take away the guy's destiny?"

Later, a young clerk at the Softy-Freeze agrees to be one of the female stars of the film and rationalizes her decision by complaining about the lack of opportunities in their small town: She tells Bridges, "You want to see the list of opportunities that come my way?" She then grabs a napkin out of the napkin holder and pushes it across the table.

Should you watch the movie — and I hope you will — you may end up reacting the way I did to the series of rationalizations, which was a vague feeling of "They might be right." I won't give away the big plot twist about the movie within the movie, but we know this much about "The Amateurs" itself: The Web sites that track box-office numbers list its total time in theatrical release at two weeks in four theaters. Still, it got made, and with Jeff Bridges, Ted Danson and Joe Pantoliano. Somebody sold this movie to the backers, and I'm certain that somewhere along the way someone said, "I have a feeling."

In sum, what can we conclude about rationalizing? A rationalization is a negotiation with yourself in which you're likely to win the argument and lose the money.