So, I guess the guy from The Secret is in a whole heap of trouble about his wackadoo Sweat Lodge experience. It's a shame because the principles of The Secret are really important.

In a nutshell — because it is hard to slog through the nutcase book to get to the kernel — what you visualize, you get. Be it good, bad, or ugly.

I absolutely know this is true because when most chefs hire a PR firm, they're pretty vague about what they want and the results are also pretty vague.

Just like The Secret says.

Spend some time thinking precisely about what success looks like to you. Be specific. Start by writing down everything you can think of, no matter if it is realistic or not, so you can get yourself going.

Go to bookstores and stand around flipping through magazines. Watch food TV. Google successful chefs and see what they have done and achieved. Spend a month doing this.

Then spend the next month thinking about each thing and how it really fits into your life and if you are willing to do the work it takes to get there. Cross off the things that really don't matter. Things that aren't very realistic probably won't really fit into your life anyway, you'll cross them off too.

When you are done, you have an action plan for your PR firm — and yourself.