Update on former Apprentice TV Show runner

Forget "The Apprentice." Tana Goertz has moved on to "The Secret." A couple of years ago, if you'll recall, she was the pride of Des Moines on Donald Trump's TV show. She had a strong start but viewers weren't impressed with her finish. Still, millions watched her for weeks on the big stage.So how do you follow that?Last summer, Goertz appeared on another "reality" show, "Fear Factor." She has published a children's book, "I'm Bigger Than This." But most of her money comes from her public speaking career, and she says that has been "fantastic."Her Web site, www.heytana.com, suggests that she is staying fairly busy, if not always in a red-carpet, designer-gown way. Among other gigs, last October she spoke at the Central Iowa American Payroll Association's statewide conference; in November, it was the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society's annual Insurance Industry Day; and in December, she addressed the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives annual meeting."It doesn't matter to me how big they are," she says. "They're telling me I'm changing their life. I've realized I have a gift of encouragement."Now she hopes to hit the encouragement circuit hard as a teacher of The Secret. This is a concept that attracted attention with an Internet-circulated movie about a year ago and has been featured by TV heavyweights Larry King, Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey. And as we all know, when Oprah gives her stamp of approval to a thing, that thing is golden. According to various Web sites, The Secret is a key to life that has been passed down through the ages. It seems to boil down to: "Think good thoughts, and good things will happen to you." Now you know."It's the way I've lived my life," says Goertz, and she certainly talks in positives. "I'm still hot and popular and ever in demand," she says. She's the national spokeswoman for a gizmo called the Bedazzler, and claims "it has done over $3 million in sales, and the owners say it's for one reason only - you."She reports that admirers still stop her on the street. People seek out her personal fitness trainer to get that Tana look. And they tell her they like her teeth."People stop me every day to ask about my teeth," she says. "I've been approached by a cosmetic dentist who wants to say he's responsible for my smile, and some dentists ask if they can say they bleached my teeth." Haven't been bleached, she tells them. OK, they reply, can we bleach them? As you can see, the weather forecast always calls for sunshine over Tana Goertz's head. Testimonials adorn her Web site, although the first two people quoted, radio host Round Guy and TV personality Steve Pilchen, are, technically speaking, the same person.There was a moment when the critics turned on her. She helped their cause by saying on TV that her Apprentice experience was "all B.S.," and she didn't say it in the shorthand form. But life goes on. She says she's too busy to worry about the past, anyway. "I'm entertaining offers that come to me daily," Goertz says. For one thing, "I'm going to do some filming for a Web site; they want me to be their spokesman."And, although she's not at liberty to reveal details, Goertz lets it be known that she's in the running to become a radio talk-show host. She thinks that would be great, but even better would be hosting a show on television. And if those things don't happen? If the celebrity status someday goes away, will she miss it? "Oh, God, not at all," Goertz says. "I do not need to be recognized to be happy. I'm a happy person. I'm filled with peace. "