Unlocking the Secrets to Wealth: A Conversation with Douglas Vermeeren on The Science of Getting Rich

Join us for an inspiring and insightful conversation with Douglas Vermeeren, the visionary director behind The Science of Getting Rich, a transformative new documentary inspired by Wallace D. Wattles's timeless classic. Discover the mental and spiritual principles that lead to financial abundance and personal fulfillment, as shared by an extraordinary cast of personal development legends, including Bob Proctor in his final and most inspiring role. Douglas reveals the creative process behind the film, its profound messages, and how it's being distributed worldwide. Don’t miss this deep dive into unlocking the secrets to living a rich and meaningful life!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Our guest, Douglas Bermerin, is a Canadian actor, producer, director, and stuntman who has appeared in over 50 movies and television shows worldwide. Douglas is proud of two independent feature films, Jackknife and Tenants, which are winning awards worldwide. Douglas won a Best Actor Award for his portrayal of Billy Land uh LeChans in Jackknife and a Best Supporting Actor Award for his portrayal of Leonard in Tenants. He's also nominated for the Best Supporting Actor at the 2024 Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival. You can see him in Paramount Plus's series, Mafia Spies, Now the Dreaming. Douglas is the producer and director of five top personal development films, which have been translated into more than 26 languages. He's the author of several books on various topics, including acting and the film industry. His newest film is The Science of Getting Rich. And Carol, I remember you teaching Wallace Waddle's book to your film funding class.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Yes, Claire, I love Wallace. He is so full of information. Thank you very much, Douglas, for joining us.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

Thank you for having me, guys.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Yes, well, we want to cover the film's inspiration and the benefits to filmmakers. So let's start with what inspired you to adapt Wallace D. Wattles 1910 classic, The Science of Getting Rich, into a documentary.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Well, I've always been fascinated, just like yourself, about the work of Wallace D. Wattles. And quite frankly, as I did the research, I was surprised how many people were influenced by his documentary. In fact, the hit film that came out in 2006 called The Secret can be directly traced to the science of getting rich. In fact, the producer and director of that, Rhonda Byrne, was given a copy of that when she was in a moment of financial and mental anguish and despair in her life. And she claims that that's the book that really turned it around for her. And there's others too. In fact, even Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and several of the other wealth books that we esteem today, like Rich Dad Poor Dad and others, can trace their history back to the Science of Getting Rich as well. So it was interesting, but I have to confess that uh I was a bit of a skeptic at first because I didn't know much about it. And I thought, how can a book in 1910 help us with what's going on in the world today? It might be that that book's a little out of touch. So I think the thing that really triggered me to pursue the documentary was I began to test and try some of the materials from the book. And no kidding, I got some pretty astounding results. So it was it was great.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

It's a mindset, yes. Changing your mind and controlling the future.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

I would actually use a different term. I think mindset, we we use that word a lot and we throw it around, but set really means to stay in place. So I think a better word would be a mind stretch. It really took me to a new place of thinking that I hadn't yet really considered. And obviously, the mind stretch is the beginning. The reality is, is one of the things that I love what Wallace D. Waddle said in the book is he said that when we do certain things in a certain way, we begin to get certain results. And I think that that was a big portion of what made a difference for me. It wasn't just the thinking about things, it was the really learning how to do them at a new level. And to tell you the truth, I was very surprised that it doesn't always take grand changes or activities in our lives to see massive changes. Sometimes just the little things that we didn't know, we didn't know, once we get those fixed, suddenly things can flow to us in a way that we we hadn't ever experienced before.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Douglas, why do you think the principles and Wallace's book are still relevant in today's world?

SPEAKER_02 5:16

That's a great question because again, looking back, the book was written in 1910. And wow, we've had so many changes since then, not to mention even something so dramatic like the internet. Like it's just a new world that we live in. But as I looked at the principles and how they've been applied and, you know, how they have literally been uh apparent in so many of the other personal development literature that we've got and quite frankly, influential in some of that. You know, the principles are, how should we say, long-lasting. They they they last that sort of um duration of time. They're timeless. And it really does start with kind of this idea of how we think about things, right? Um, you know, what we think about is what we bring about, is really a way that it could be said. Um, but the book doesn't stop there. The book actually really focuses a lot on how do we then take what we think about and translate that into specific actions. In fact, Wallace D. Waddles talks a little bit about this idea of when we do certain things in a certain way, we're going to get certain results. In fact, that's even how he ties it to that idea of the science, the science of getting rich. That there really is a pattern or a formula that anyone can apply. And as they do those things in that specific way, you can't help but receive the specific results. Now, I have to confess at first I was a bit of a skeptic on these things, right? Like, I mean, it's easy for people to say you if you do this, you're gonna receive, you know, financial rewards or abundance in your life. But I really did find that I did immediately start to see abundance. And it wasn't just financially. I honestly felt that, you know, everything began to expand in my life. In fact, so much so that one of the things I share in the in the book, which I firmly believe to be true, is if you want to expand what you have, you must begin by expanding who you are. Right? Jim Rohn, the motivational speaker, also said it uh in an interesting way. He said once that if you win the lottery and you want to keep it, you need to learn how to become a millionaire really fast. And I think that this whole book, The Science of Getting Rich, doesn't just show the patterns of how to build wealth, but it turns really everyone who reads it into an abundant thinker and a person who is essentially becoming that abundant internally before they can receive it externally. And that's really an important step, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:33

That's true.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Yeah, who we become dictates what we get to have.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

So, what do you want audiences to take away from the film? And how do you see it impacting their lives, Douglas?

SPEAKER_02 7:46

Well, I think an important consideration is that we do live in difficult times right now. It seems like wherever we go, there's trouble. The economy is often difficult for many people, and you know, earning the money that we need to cover our lives' expenses is often for many people a challenge. So I think the first thing that we really want to understand from the movie and learn from the movie is that number one, whatever your circumstance or situation is currently, you can change it for the positive. In other words, it doesn't really matter where you've been or the challenges that you've had in the past. If you're committed to making something new and taking a more powerful step in your future, that is available to anyone. Anyone can do it, regardless of where they've been. And then I guess the second thing that I really appreciate about the book is that the the reality is it takes just as much work to stay broke as it does to stay abundant. And and so some people really work hard to stay, I don't know, I don't want to use the word say a victim state, but some people really do work very, very hard to keep themselves from success and they sabotage themselves and they work against themselves. But the thing that I love from the movie that we've created is we have shared in there some of the things that we can do to overcome that so that we can begin to find our greatest self, the abundant version of us, if you will. And then, you know, how to activate the elements in our life that will make that flow more easily so that it's not as difficult, right? That idea of um, how do we say, to set it and forget it and be able to create it so that we can let it flow and let it go. And um, when we can start to see how that really works from a law of attraction point of view and, you know, universal principles, um, I think most of us would be delighted to see that abundance is far closer to us than we ever realize possible.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

So finding abundance in your life is one of the keys. It's there, but you really need to focus on it and find it.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

Well, I think the thing that's also interesting, if you think about it, I had a mentor once tell me that if you've ever seen another human being on the planet do or accomplish the things that you would like to do or have, the things that you want to have, the fact that another person has been able to figure it out means that you can too. And success does leave clues. And so it's possible for everybody. And I guess even the other thing, maybe to kind of share that is that abundance does exist all around us. In fact, I love one of the things that Bob Proctor kind of shared in one of my films. He was telling the story of this Maharaji who wanted to start a center for transcendental meditation. And when he was talking about this dream of this a magnificent thing he was going to create, all of his followers said, Well, where's the money gonna come from? And his answer was, Well, where wherever it is now, right? And I think if we really realize that, you know, every day at the mint, they are printing money, they're making it every day. There's no shortage of it. The question is, is how much of it would you like to receive? And if you're willing to see that it's a around us and that abundance exists and that, you know, there's there's no lack at all, you know, we can start moving towards receiving it. I think the problem is most people think that money and finances are far harder to achieve than they really are, right? In fact, I love when when we did one of our earlier films, I had a chance to visit with Jack Canfield, who's become a really good friend. You remember him, the creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul, the co-creator with Mark. And um, Jack was saying, just think about this. When you go outside in the day or whatever, and you take a breath of air, right? Even if you do it now as you're listening to this, take a breath of air. Most people generally do it quite shallow. They don't take a lot of air. They basically kind of hold back and they only breathe kind of just enough. That's the way most people live their life when it comes to finances. We're very timid on how much we will bring into our life compared to what we really could. Whereas in the reality is, is you can fill your lungs as full as you want them and you can do that again and again and again as often as you want. And it hasn't really created a shortage for anyone else. The reality is, is there is always an abundance around us. It's just up to us how much we will decide to bring into our lives, just the same as we decide how much air we get to bring into our lungs. So I think most of us could do very well to start looking at the universe and the world as a more abundance place and don't be afraid to participate at a higher level.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

This is so true, Doug, because being a fiscal sponsor uh for as a nonprofit to support filmmakers, the donations come to us and we give them to the filmmakers, and the money that is out there is incredible. And the best part of it is that we're getting money from uh Carnegie's Institute. Oh, 100,000 is a normal donation, and then in Mellon, it's many hundred thousand, and these are men that were using this same information because they made their fortunes during the early 1900s. So the idea is getting rich is not only helping yourself, it is something that will allow you as a filmmaker or artist to leave money for future generations, and that's what they did.

SPEAKER_02 13:14

I also think it's interesting if we think about the concept of money itself. You know, really money, what is it? Like if we look at the actual physical element. Well, it's a piece of paper with generally a dead person on it. That's really what it is, right? Like if you think about it. But but if we now look at it in another sense, money really has the value of what you're going to do with it next. And in terms of if we're if you're creating a film or a legacy or a piece that's you know inspirational or got value to some capacity, then we really understand that money isn't really about the piece of paper with that person on it. Money really now becomes a matter of what are you contributing and what's the value that you're bringing. And I'm a firm believer because we work with people finding funding for film too, that generally the best ideas or the best, let's call it, um, value that is in the film, generally those are the ones that find the support. And so rather than saying, oh, I got to raise some money for a movie and we're focused on that idea, it would probably be better to say, how can I create a project that's gonna inspire or affect the most amount of people that would bring the most value into the world, that would bring the most benefit to the most people. And when you're doing that and you've got a film that really is going to add to other people's lives, you'll find that it's a lot easier to find support for it. And I think that's where a lot of filmmakers go wrong.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

Exactly. That's a very good idea. Well, let's talk about the creation process. So the most challenging part of translating his principles into a documentary format.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

Well, I think one of the biggest challenges, if I'm being quite frank, not only with Wallace T. Waddles, but also the interviews of the people that we had in the film. So we had the last footage ever shot of Bob Proctor. We included many people that are well known in the personal development space, John Osroff, Joe Vitale, John T. Martini, um, you know, uh Marie Diamond, people like Sharon Lecter, who was the co-author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I mean, we had so much vast information that was extremely valuable, stuff that was just super insightful. But we have a limited time in a documentary to share so much. So, first of all, I had to look through the, you know, obviously the book Think and Grow Rich and to definitely, or sorry, the book, The Science of Getting Rich, and to go very deep into what content in this book could be most accessible to people. So, what could they understand and apply immediately? And then also, what would be the stuff that I could go to these teachers that I was bringing on to have them add commentary on how these lessons could be applied in today's world? Because that's just it, too, is is I didn't just want to create an information program. I wanted to create, let's call it a transformational program. So, you know, with these principles, how can the average everyday person take this idea and actually create something in their own life? And I think that that was probably the difficult thing. And if I'm being sincere, there was a lot of stuff that I personally would have loved to share in the film that I ended up having to sort of leave out. But what we've done now is of course, we've got um, you know, supplemental tools that we've created that can still share much of that information. But I mean, how much can you share in a quick documentary that makes it digestible? So the goal, I think, with the film was to really just make it the beginning of a conversation and the the starting point for people who want to be serious students of this material, right? So, how can we get that beginning, that spark started, right? That was the mission.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Well Dan. Well, tell us about the supplemental tools you have.

SPEAKER_02 16:50

Yeah. So when someone gets involved in the film, um, they certainly have the opportunity to become a deeper student. So we've got other videos that we've created using that content. There's also a variety of workbooks and material where a person can actually take their current uh situation in their life and just essentially fill in the blanks to see how the material in the film can best support what they're trying to accomplish. And let's be honest, everyone has different goals. And so sometimes the perspective of how they're going to look at the material and what they want to accomplish. I mean, some people just simply want to create abundance in their life so that they can, quite frankly, pay their bills and get out of debt. And that's a lot different than, say, someone who's maybe trying to start an entrepreneurial venture or a business or a filmmaker, right? So a lot of the tools that we've shared that supplement this are designed to help a person get specific results based on really what they're trying to accomplish. Let's be honest, not everybody out there wants a Ferrari, right? So sometimes being specific is the goal. And I'm a firm believer. Uh, one of the sayings that that I teach in my seminar is that a goal that is specific and clear becomes attainable and near. But the problem is most people don't take enough time to get very specific with what they're trying to do. So therefore, they may not even recognize it when it shows up.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

That's right. This I have seen this happen right, right. There's a story of the guy who was an actor and um he had written a script and wanted to make a film, but uh in the meantime, the universe um he was without a job. So a friend said, Why don't you go to work for this friend of mine who owns a restaurant? And he did, and he had the same client almost every day for ages and got to know him quite well, only to find out that this was the producer he needed to make his film.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

That's funny.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

Sometimes you you think you're off balance, but as long as you have your vision and Wallace taught us that it was important to believe what you wanted already existed. Is that right, Doug?

SPEAKER_02 18:56

It's definitely true. And and I also like what you were saying here about you know not recognizing this man when he showed up. The reality is, I'm also on the advisory board for the American Film Convention in Los Angeles. And we just did a speed pitching event where we had probably about 600 filmmakers come through and they met with uh a large number of investors that we brought. And um, I had a chance to interview a specific filmmaker, and I was actually just in awe. I said to him, Well, how much money do you need? And he's like, Well, I don't really know. Well, then how am I supposed to help with that? Right? Like, I'm not sure how you can answer that. So I think this idea of becoming specific is a beginning point to understanding exactly what you want. Now, having said that, it's okay if it changes, right? Like if you've identified something and then you you change your mind along the way, but until you have a target, how are you supposed to hit it? And um, you know, how are you supposed to describe it to others and get help? So I think it's really important that you need to know what you want before you can get help from others to help you get what you want.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Well, uh, do you uh also subscribe to the idea of a vision board putting what you want, some pictures?

SPEAKER_02 20:07

Well, I do actually. Um, but I do think like here's here's the thing. When I was early in my career, I I cut out pictures of things from magazines and I put them on a vision board. I just went to the local uh you know drugstore and bought a sheet of poster paper that I would glue things on. But I later found out there's some things that I can do to make my vision board more specific. So for example, there was one thing that I wanted, and I know we mentioned Ferrari, but when I was younger, I wanted a Ferrari. And I had somebody ask me, well, what model do you want? And I was like, There's models like there's different kinds. Oh, wow. So that was a big aha to me. I didn't know that. So on my vision board, I then wrote the model specifically that I wanted, but it wasn't enough to do that. I also wrote what the exact price was. So now if a good deal came along, I could recognize if it was a good deal. But now here's the kicker on my vision board. I also wrote why I wanted it. So the whole understanding was there, right? And when you have your why power figured out, your willpower becomes so much easier. Right now, ultimately, what's funny is as I had written all those details about now being specific and clear, I did have a Ferrari show up. I found that it was cheaper than what it would normally have gone for. So I could recognize that it was a good deal, and I was able to purchase that. Now, honestly, um, you know, I don't have it now. I sold it, um, and I'm not sure that I even recommend go getting one because what do they say? The best days when you buy a Ferrari is the day you get it and the day you sell it. Um, right? It's just they're expensive vehicles to maintain. And, you know, I'm from Canada, and I think the last summer I had it, I drove it six times. So it probably wasn't a great purchase because of our weather here. But but I think the principle holds true. Whatever it is, you should have your vision board get very specific, including why you want something. Yes, and if and if you can kind of determine all of these details, something becomes closer, right? It's like the the way that I kind of look at the law of attraction. Most people think, okay, if you sit on your couch and you meditate enough, something's gonna show up at your doorstep. And I think, yes, that can happen, just like lightning can strike you as you walk down the street, it can happen. But more likely, the way that the law of attraction works, again, remember I said that everything that we already want exists in the world. So the question is, is how are not you attracting it to you, but how are you attracting you to it? So, in other words, what are you doing in your life to get specific about what you what you want and start moving in that direction and increasing the likelihood that you'll have it by the actions that you do, the people that you meet, the things that you learn, the places you go. These are all things that are within your control. And so, how can you move towards, how can you be attracted to what you want rather than the things that you want being attracted to you? I think that's really the way that the law of attraction works.

SPEAKER_01 22:57

Yes, exactly. This is wonderful. Well, um, about the creative process, you chose a wonderful list of people for your film. So I'd love to hear how you found them. And also what it was like working with Bob Proctor, because I highly admire him.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

Well, I'll maybe start with the Bob question first. So Bob's a Canadian like me, and I've known him for years. Um, the first movie that I had him in was one that I I did, um, I think it was around 2013, called The Gratitude Experiment, where we looked at the power of gratitude in our lives, and it was just fantastic. So that was my first chance uh really to work with Bob Proctor in a film. But what's interesting is before that time, he had actually written a Ford on a couple of my books. So he and I had uh a relationship existing already before. Um, but I will tell you the one thing about working with Bob that has always been amazing while he was alive with us. Um, he always had a very grandfatherly like energy. And I always felt like he and I had this connection where, you know, it wasn't just he was a personal development leader. It was someone who genuinely was interested in my life and he was always helpful and kind to me. And um I'll tell you, it was just an incredible thing to sometimes spend a full day with him, even if I wasn't running a camera, just to learn from him. Um, and I should say, I'm not talking about what you'd learn while he was on stage, although that was totally brilliant. Like he could teach like a master from the stage, but simply simply just having a conversation with him. I remember one of my favorite conversations with him. We were talking about the law of attraction, of course. And you remember that in films like The Secret, they say that everything vibrates and has a frequency.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

And and so I asked him uh this idea around what is it that's actually vibrating? And, you know, tell me like this frequency, like, help me understand this. And as we discussed, we kind of unfolded the idea that everything that's vibrating is actually a manifestation of either gratitude or love. And things that we make difficult in our life or things that are resisting or things that are not comfortable or fill in the blank, those are things that have a low level of gratitude or love, and that manifests itself, right? Like it's not an easy thing to deal with for people when it's a difficult kind of level or frequency. But when something is flowing and does flow well, it's a high level of gratitude or love. And if you think about it, all the best things in our life seem to come really easy, and also we generally feel very good about them. And it was just interesting to kind of do that breakdown. And and now, of course, I ask the question if I'm encountering something and it's not quite working out, I ask, well, in this situation, where's the gratitude and love in that? And sometimes it's me trying to force something that shouldn't be, or maybe it's me trying to force something that is evolving and it's on the way, but I'm trying to get it here quicker. And so I'm not doing it in a spirit of gratitude or love for what is. I'm doing it with sort of a jealousy or uh an impatience of I need it now. And oftentimes, if I say, okay, well, I'm gonna pause and change my thinking around that and try and approach it with more gratitude, suddenly I activate that idea of attracting it or attracting me to it differently than I did before. So that was just it was a valuable lesson. It was always fun learning with Bob. But I guess to answer your question about how we found these speakers, each one of them was chosen very carefully. Um, obviously, I wanted to see who were the best teachers for this specific message. And with all the other personal development films that I've I've made, you'll notice that there are different teachers in each one because I believe firmly that certain people have either done these things in their life, they've learned it well enough to live it, that they're the perfect teacher for that principle. Like when we did the gratitude experiment, there were teachers that I had in that film that were just incredible examples of gratitude. And then when we did the film The Opus, which was my first film talking about how to get from a vision of what you want to turn it into a workable plan and something that takes place in your life, there were certain people. Like I had, again, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, who have, I believe it's still the best-selling book series of all time in Chicken Soup for the Soul. In fact, I think I read somewhere that the only book that's had more copies in print is The Bible. And so I think different people were chosen for the different films. And then I've also always been on the hunt, and I still am. So I mean, if there's someone listening that feels they're a great teacher of these principles, I'm always on the hunt as well for people who maybe are not well known yet, but they have a powerful message. People that should be recognized as, say, a coaching or a speaking uh superstar or teacher or leader that people need to know about. They have good content, but we have never heard of them. I'm always on the lookout for that too. And this time, I in The Science of Getting Rich, I have some incredible people that I had never met before. But as I heard their stories and listened to their teachings, they really did understand these principles and they had some very unique perspectives on how to apply these things. So, for example, we've got one amazing lady, she's from Vietnam. She literally was a boat person coming across. In fact, she said that uh something, I can't remember the exact details, but she had um come across. They had enough food for like three weeks, but the journey was like six. And so part of their trip was a very stressful, challenging trip, and she definitely encountered a lot of adversity. And when she arrived in North America, she had to learn how to speak the language and all these things. Well, she went on a journey from doing that to becoming a dentist that owns multiple practices. And it's just incredible how she did that. And then we've also got a gentleman, um, one of my favorite speakers from the film. He is a former law enforcement officer, in other words, a policeman. And he was also on the SWAT team. And you can imagine what the mindset is being on a SWAT team. They don't generally get called out to, you know, to issue parking tickets. Those are the guys they call when there's something really serious going on, right? And so as he was there as a SWAT team member, you can imagine he saw a lot of really interesting but difficult situations. Well, how do you mind uh maintain a specific mindset when you're in a situation where there's gunfire going on and there's, you know, possibly say people being hurt or hostages or all kinds of other things where you might not be coming home that night, right? It could be something very serious. And some of the insights that he shares in the film around mindset are actually quite revolutionary. I've not heard some of that stuff before. So I'm always looking for people that, you know, have a unique perspective, but also something that is valuable to the average person. And I think I found it with this movie. We've got some really amazing people. In fact, there's also another lady in the film, I love her to death. Her name's Lana. You'll you'll get a chance to see her when you see the film. Um, but she was telling me how there was a house that she really wanted along the Oregon coast, and she'd wanted it for years. And um, when she saw it go up for auction, she decided to put in a bid. But something in her gut told her, just put one dollar above it. And she began to meditate on that one dollar above the asking price, one dollar above. And she was meditating it out and putting it out to the universe, and she was visualizing herself already living in this house. In fact, she even decided where she was going to put certain furniture and she was making plans like of all the things. And um, no kidding, they called her back and said, You now own that house. Congratulations, right? So, just some interesting things that, you know, different methods on how she sort of manifested that. That, you know, and and of course, I'm not sharing all the details here because I want to save some for people to see it in the film and through the materials, but it's just incredible how should we say that I didn't necessarily understand that kind of manifesting abundance to that degree. Like I had the way that I did it in my life, and a lot of that worked very well, but we can all use more tools in our toolbox on how to bring manifestation in. And to be quite frank, um, sometimes the tools that we're using are not always the right ones for us. We think they are, and we're spinning our wheels, but suddenly when we learn a way that someone else has done it and been successful, we add that to our toolbox, and that could be just the thing that we needed to ignite, you know, the true abundance and to make it just far easier, right? Like it's now the sort of lever that we need to just shift the universe a little bit closer to us, and you never know where you're gonna find that. I'm always surprised that where I get information, it's generally in the place I least expect it. Yes, and right. So it was awesome. And I still am, like I say, on the hunt for really great people who can share their expertise on whatever subject we want to learn about, right?

SPEAKER_01 31:56

Yes, learning from other people's success stories is empowering, and so is your film. I found it very empowering. It it's one of those things that you feel so good after you watch, you feel I can do that. It looks so simple, and they've done it. Why can't I? So job well done.

SPEAKER_02 32:17

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 32:18

Yes, I really think you did a wonderful job. And the content now, let's talk about key messages because what do you think are some of the most surprising principles that Wallace shared in his book?

SPEAKER_02 32:34

Well, again, going back to this idea of how accessible it is to everyone, right? When when I grew up, like no kidding, my father was uh working in construction, my mom babysat kids in the home, and they worked as hard as they could to make ends meet. And so I was raised kind of in a family where, thank goodness, my parents did teach me how to work hard, but we didn't really see the abundance to the degree where I'm not sure I really believed that it was possible for everyone, right? Right. And so um I think that that's one of the biggest messages in this book is that first of all, it is accessible, but here's how, right? So that idea of how, the actual tangible idea that there's things that you can do, and we share that in the film too, is how can you do it? Um, one of the quotes that I also really like from Wallace D. Waddles, he says, Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that a person is not truly successful until they are rich. And and I guess at first, you know, you you look at that, and then some people might even take offense and say, Well, I'm not super rich, but I feel successful. Well, let me maybe put it just a different way. The lesson I think that Wallace is trying to teach us here is that if you think about it, everything in life does have a price tag. If you want to go to school, you've got to pay for it. If you want to travel and see the world, you've got to pay for it. If you want to have, you know, uh a house to raise your family in that has certain features and enough bedrooms and all these things, yes, you've got to pay for it. And so I think to some extent, if you think about it, you know, we are always expanding as people, right? We're looking to become more than we've ever been before, right? Um, Bob Proctor in the film says, you know, again, if you want to run a race, you want to run it faster. If you want to sing a song, you want to sing it louder. If you want to, like whatever your heart's telling you that you need to do, we want to expand that. But here's the thing is that when we have the financial means to do so, it's almost like we have a ticket to move forward, right? If we have financial resources, we can get help. If we have financial resources, we can go faster. If we have financial resources, we can become better. Like it, it just opens doors to us. And so, this idea of really what wealth and abundance is, it's having the ability or the permission to become our greatest self. And I think that that's one of the biggest messages that I love from the science of getting rich. Yes, it's true. Back to this idea that money is just a piece of paper with a dead guy on it. But what it does is it opens us to be a different version of us. And and and by the way, there's no wrong way to spend money, right? As long as you're not hurting someone else, you're expanding who you are. And I love what John Di Martini also said in the film. He said that um, you know, everyone's wealthy, it just appears in the form that you value most. And so for some people, you know, maybe wealth is again owning material things. And that's fine if that's what it chooses, that's a choice they make. For other people, wealth is having the ability and time to spend, say, with a family member. But you know what? You can't stop working unless you have the means. So, again, whatever you decide is wealth to you, having cash will facilitate the ability to get there quicker. And I think that that's an important lesson. And, you know, we should never like some people go to this idea that you know the love of money is the root of all evil. Well, why don't we switch that around and say, I think it depends on what you do with the money. If we if we substitute that word money, again, if I say relationships, you certainly can't say, well, the love of relationships is the root of all evil. It's not, right? Or if you're going to give back to a charitable organization or like bless your community or your church or help put kids through school or help an orphanage, you can't, again, if you take that word money, which you kind of need money to do all those things I just mentioned, and you replace it, like say it again. The love of helping orphans is the root of all evil. It just doesn't make sense. So the reality is, is that whatever you do with the money, you know, whatever your sort of desires, motivations, or attachments to that are, are what's going to determine whether it's evil or not. And I believe for most people, you know, that I've met, anyways, don't go around thinking, well, how can I do wrong in the world? I need more money to like cause chaos and disaster and difficulty for other people. No one's looking at money like that, right? So don't focus on the actual like currency, focus on the actual mission, right? Why do you want riches? Why do you want to create abundance? And I also believe I'm a I'm a firm believer in uh what Zig Ziglar once said about money. Zig Ziggler, for those who don't know who are listening, was one of the biggest motivational speakers uh of our generation and just an incredible speaker and wise individual. I love him to death. He had so much wisdom, but he said something simple. He said, you know, that God wants his people to have the money. He didn't build it for the devils. And I think that that's so true, right? You know, like all the abundance and goodness and great things in the world, they're designed to create more goodness and great things in the world. And so we should be part of that. That's my feelings.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

Exactly. Exactly. We should be part of it and take advantage of all of this information you're sharing with us. So let's talk about distribution and outreach. So tell us how you're distributing the science of getting rich and what platforms or strategies are you using to reach your global audience.

SPEAKER_02 38:09

Great. Yeah. What we have found with our personal development films, like okay. So with my other films, I do use a traditional distribution uh company. In fact, we do uh, like with Jackknife that you heard about, um, I'm on the executive producing team of that. So we've used a traditional distributor with that. Uh tenants, it wasn't my uh choice because I was just an actor in that. They're using traditional distribution. Um, and several of the other movies and things I've been involved in, you talked about Mafia Spies. So they're using things like Paramount Plus, which it's their property, so they can do that. Um, but with the personal development films, I find it a little bit different because I want to share more than just the movie. Like we said, we have materials and things that you can do. So if you were to say, for example, purchase or view them a movie like this on say Netflix or you know, Paramount Plus or you know, Amazon, the problem is they don't really allow you to include a bunch of extras or bonuses in that way. And so we have chosen to self-distribute so we could control things. So if a person wanted to continue that journey deeper, they can find these bonuses and all of the things that they can use to really learn the material. So currently, right now, we're we're distributing the science of getting rich the same way we've done my other personal development movies. So you can just go to the website science of getting rich movie.com, and then all those bonuses are also available. But here's the thing it is for a limited time. So you'd want to go quickly because what happens is, you know, after we have shared our movie on the various platforms and with the audiences that we typically do, we actually then do give them to a traditional distributor. And they do wind up on things like, you know, iTunes, Netflix, and all of these, but they don't allow the bonuses to follow them, like these workbooks and other videos and other learnings and lessons. They don't allow that to follow. Um, another way that we're also doing things with this movie, like we've done in the past, is we partner with a variety of organizations. So we partnered with, you know, uh network marketing companies or groups of say insurance companies or financial planners or what have you. And so um we often do screenings for these groups. And so we have four walled in the theaters. All of my movies have had theatrical runs as well. Um, but when we control the theatrical runs, we bring with us those bonuses so people can still learn. And then the other thing that we do too, and this might be interesting for listeners, is we also do have an affiliate marketing program set up where, you know, if you share your experiences with the movie and and so forth, and we assign you this link, you actually get a revenue share of the movies that people buy through like your connection, right? Like connecting to you. And so uh that's been very successful. In fact, um, with my last movie, which was How Thoughts Become Things, we had one single affiliate who's kept sharing it on social media, and they did almost$400,000 in revenues. So that was that was pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 41:12

Oh, wonderful! How thoughts become things, how great.

SPEAKER_02 41:16

Yeah, How Thoughts Become Things was one of our biggest movies yet. Um, and it came out, I think, at the perfect time just at the beginning of the pandemic, where everybody was quite concerned about their thoughts and no one knew what was gonna happen, and we all had fears and all kinds of things because we'd never encountered a pandemic before. But um, it was a great movie. It was really quite uh a powerful film. And and that's coming out through a traditional distributor uh probably in a couple of weeks here.

SPEAKER_01 41:45

Oh, good, good. Now tell us how we can see your film. Where do we go?

SPEAKER_02 41:51

Yeah, um like I said, we do have certain areas where we are like geographical locations where we are going to be doing live screenings. And in those cases, we often do bring the speakers out with us. And by the way, I might mention if if you really like this content, reach out to us and we can always talk about organizing a screening in your area. We've partnered with people who enjoy this content and uh, you know, we do a revenue share of what we're able to create, but you know, reach out to us, we can do that. Um, but it's primarily available as an online um film that you can download and uh along with all the other bonuses that I've talked about. And you can find that at scienceofgetting rich movie.com. And um again, it's all just like it sounds one word, scienceofgetting richmovie.com. But um I also love the idea of going in person to kind of meet people. So if that interests you, you can find uh all of those locations of where we're doing it. But like I said, maybe this is something that you want to partner with us and make some money yourself sharing this message. Happy to work with you on that.

SPEAKER_01 42:54

That sounds great. Well, what feedback have you received from some of your viewers?

SPEAKER_02 43:00

Oh, it's absolutely fantastic. We've actually got some videos that are going to be coming up soon from some of the screenings that we did that have testimonials of people who enjoyed the film and so forth. But it's not just, you know, what they're saying to us about, you know, they leave the theater and they're like, it was a great movie, blah, blah, blah, blah. I love that. That's fantastic that they're having that experience. But the testimonials that I think are most important are the ones that are coming back like two or three weeks later about people saying, I implemented that idea that I learned in the film. And you know what? All of a sudden I just got to check in the mail. Or all of a sudden, the funding I needed for my business has arrived. Or the people that I needed to find that would help me take my project to the next level are now involved. And I think that those are the ones that really, to me, um are the most important testimonials because it shows that the material itself, it's not just an entertaining film, it's actually a film that is making a difference. And I think that that's exciting. And we're getting those everyday people that are telling us how they've they've had these changes in their life and career and everything else. And by the way, what's also interesting is I have gotten some that are not talking about, for example, just money. They're talking also about this idea of that they've they've had results come to them in terms of their relationships, in terms of their connection to self, self-esteem, their health has been doing better in some circumstances because they're feeling better about things, and that's translating into, you know, real results that way. Uh, we've had people who've, you know, I mean, so so many things, even on a spiritual level, I've got some too that said, you know, I'm I'm feeling more connected on a spiritual level than I ever had before. And I'm like, well, how's that associated to the science of getting rich? And they'll explain it. And I'm like, wow, I did not see that coming. It's kind of like that old saying that, you know, you can count the apples in the seed, but you can't count the or you can count the seeds in the apple, but you can't count the apples in the seed. People are coming up with stuff I never saw that it would change lives like this. And to me, that's that's incredibly exciting.

SPEAKER_01 44:56

It is exciting. Um thank you very much. Because self-esteem and confidence are keys for filmmakers. Without that, it's impossible to raise money because people pick up your fear when you're talking to them about the money for your film.

SPEAKER_02 45:12

You have to you may have heard this saying that your net worth is preceded by your self-worth, right? No, I have it, but then you have to have your self-worth before you can increase your net worth. And that just is, you're right. People can immediately sense not only your your confidence in it, but they can also sense your motives too. So if again, if you're creating a film and you're just in it for a cash grab, it's really hard to get people to support you because they can kind of sense that that's well, let me put it this way: you'll attract like-minded people, people that aren't really interested in leaving a legacy. They're just in it for cash too. And I mean, if that works for you, those are great partners, maybe in some cases. But if you're really looking to make a difference with a movie and create value with a movie and, you know, a legacy and help people get to the next level, again, your motives and reasons for doing it will help you attract people who feel the same way. And I think that that's a really important part. I know from my films that um, and I mean, I've had good partners and partners that weren't so good, but the ones that are the best are the ones that have the same vision for where my project is going that I do, right? And that's what you want. You want people like you, and especially in film, because let's be honest, once you make a film, it's there forever. And once you make a film with someone else, it's almost like you're married to them. Even if you fall out with them, you're still connected to them in some capacity. So it's always better, in my opinion, to find partners that you guys have the same vision and you're on the same page.

SPEAKER_01 46:40

Well said. Now, looking ahead, Douglas, tell us about the science of getting rich. What's after this, what's next for you?

SPEAKER_02 46:49

Well, I do have two other personal development films that are coming up. I'm not allowed to talk too much about them at this point, but we're looking at probably about 18 months till the next one. Um, but as an actor, I'm still out there doing a lot of stuff, day-to-day stuff. I've got um actually about four other films that I'm signed on to do right now over the next little while. It's kind of interesting that um I'm known a lot for the personal development films, which have a very inspirational, feel-good quality about them. But I'm playing a vampire in a movie coming up this year later on. I also get to play Adolf Hitler, which is again very different than the personal development stuff that we're doing. And um, I seem to get a lot of roles playing um, you know, military or police or hitmen or things like this. So it's so funny. One side of my life is, you know, uh empowering and inspirational, and the other side is, I don't know, dangerous and probably not what people would necessarily necessarily see coming. In fact, it's funny. This year at one of the film festivals I was at, I'm actually holding it in my hand now. It's uh I'll read what it says at the bottom best villain in a feature film 2024. So I'm trying to do so much good in the world, but oftentimes the characters I get to play are relatively mean or nasty.

SPEAKER_01 48:10

Very interesting. Well, just to wrap this up now, I like the idea that if you want to have a screening of the film in your area, they can contact you and find out more about it. That's great. They can go on your website uh and see the film up. All right, and then they can also download the extras and get some of that more how-to information.

SPEAKER_02 48:38

100%. Yeah, absolutely. We'd love to welcome it. And um, all obviously, too, if if people have shows or podcasts like this, I mean, I'm I'm happy to get on and talk more about these principles. Um, you know, we just we just love the difference that this film is making. And so if how we can expand that and help more people, I'm all for it.

SPEAKER_01 49:01

Great, Douglas. Thank you so much. First of all, thank you for putting this film together because it's inspiring, it works, uh, and we need it now, I think, more than ever. All the changes going around on around us, and people are feeling insecure. If they simply take this old information and realize how powerful it is, they can improve their lives on a daily basis, right?

SPEAKER_02 49:27

Absolutely. And that's a very exciting part of this, all too, is that you know, the the time I think is right for this message. And people, like you said, need it. And uh, what is it that we've often heard is that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. So if you're ready right now to take your abundance to the next level, that you're tired of kind of wondering and waiting and hoping for good things to happen, why not just tune into the teachers that are here now? And uh they're ready to help you. And you'll see that you'll get results just like all the others who are finding this information. In fact, it's almost like an unfair advantage for filmmakers because once you get into this content and you can see some of the methods of how they're doing it, you rise above all the others that are competing for the same pool of resources, right? So it's a it's a really powerful tool.

SPEAKER_01 50:17

Yes, it is. Thank you so much, Claire. Thank you for hosting the show. And Douglas, we really appreciate your time and the information you've shared with us today.

SPEAKER_02 50:29

Well, thank you for having me. It's been lots of fun.

SPEAKER_01 50:32

Okay. Uh we will chat back with you in the future. We want to hear more about your upcoming films.

SPEAKER_02 50:38

Thank you. Happy to do it.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

Okay, thank you, Claire. Thank you, and thank you, Doug.

SPEAKER_00 50:45

Be well, everyone.