Film Courage: What do you teach your clients about money?
Erica Wernick, Personal Coach, Author and Speaker: Oh man what don't I teach about it?
Money is such an important topic I think on really anyone's journey not even specific
to Hollywood.
I am still in my own learning journey of wealth consciousness and working on my money mindset
but what I like to teach them is really focus on what is possible and what sounds exciting
instead of focusing on what doesn't feel good so for example this example comes up a lot
because I remember my clients telling me about this other teacher teaching about this when
you are focusing on your writer director actor and you're focusing on this is how much of
my paycheck goes to taxes and this is how much of my paycheck goes to my agent or manager
and I am left with so little when you are focusing on I am left with so little you are
going to create more of that in your life in your career right whatever we focus on
expands so instead of going oh my gosh if I book a co-star and I only make 800 for the
day and then I guess I start with the thousands easier math to do in my head I only make a
thousand dollars for the day and 30 of that is going to taxes 20 is going to my agent
and manager and I'm only going home with like 500 bucks that really is a bummer to me that
is the most people thinking right so in terms of money instead of focusing on how much it
bums me out when you're left with little money at the end of the day instead what if you
focus on what if I booked a recurring role for twenty thousand dollars and then even
though some of it's going to taxes and my agent and manager I'm still left with a pretty
nice chunk of change right so instead of focusing on limitations and what feels like your fate
is going to be and really focus on the the downside of all of that focus on what's possible
focus on being the one that gets 10 million dollar paychecks from a movie again it's like
the most people pool and the high achiever pool that high achiever pool people who are
making 10 million dollars a movie might be smaller than most people in the industry but
let's focus on that because that's how you get there so it's so important to really think
from an abundant mindset about what is possible how do you teach people to stretch that I
guess it's a muscle I get kind of like what I was telling you with my success is inevitable
in addition to suggesting lots of books and resources that I love that I think are really
helpful because I think that it's money mindset is is a deep conversation that needs to happen
over time we need to unlearn a lot of things and relearn new things and take a look at
our own money patterns but just like with my success inevitable it's like let's start
looking for proof okay I had a client that booked a 17 000 job right so there's proof
that somebody I worked with in the recent past or whatever booked a bigger paycheck
was able to receive a bigger paycheck so now your subconscious goes oh so it's possible
oh so it's possible for me to get that right so again it's like feeding your subconscious
mind proof of what's possible because proof exists we just choose not to focus on it we
choose to focus on the people that are coming home with 500 and feeling broke but instead
all this other evidence also exists we're just saying that it's so rare and that that's
not possible for us or it's like winning the lottery right and so it's really about looking
for that proof and going okay that is what I want to focus on and that is what I'm working
towards the Gilmore Girls example that you gave again she had been modeling but she'd
never had a speaking role no wow and how long was I mean this show is doesn't it like seven
seasons and then they recently did the Netflix special that was four episodes long
yeah but there's great like I love the show so I've watched interviews and things like
that behind the scenes and I read Lauren graham's one of her books and Lauren graham talks about
how she played Alexis Bledel's mother as the two of them for people that don't know Gilmore
Girls Lauren Graham talks about she's like if you ever see a scene where I'm like grabbing
Alexis's arm and pulling her close to me she's like I was pulling her on her mark because
she was so new that she didn't in the beginning she didn't necessarily know all those things
like oh you need to stand on your mark and things that a seasoned actor would know and
so even without all that that's how new she was even without all that knowledge and all
that experience she's still booked the title one of the title roles series regular like
seven seasons wow see and that's possible when we focus on that instead of the actor
who books one co-star a year and really struggles right it's like both evidence exists which
one do we want to focus on how does money change an artist I don't think money changes
anybody I think again it's it's all internal so whatever it looks like money changed was
already there inside right so sometimes they say fame is like holding up a magnifying glass
to what's already there like for example I worked on a show I won't mention names but
I worked on a show where one of the lead actresses was not a very nice person and I found out
that people who knew her before she was famous said that she was like that then she wasn't
a nice person that it's like it's like holding up a magnifying glass so I don't just think
that money I don't think any external thing changes us I think that only I mean events
and things like that I guess can shift our perception or our feelings our beliefs but
I don't think like a tangible thing like money which is just like a value exchange I don't
think that necessarily changes people I think again it's like a magnifying glass to what's
already there so a lot of times people will feel when I have x amount of money all my
money problems will go away but having more money doesn't change your spending habits
it doesn't change your saving habits or what you do with your money how you treat your
money you are the person that does that it might inspire you to change your habits it
might inspire you to do things differently but I don't think money actually changes people
from the people you've worked with how does their outward success change the people around
them oh good question I cuz I love that like to me that it makes me so happy to help I
say spread the light like I want to spread the light in Hollywood the people that I work
with helping them feel good and feel inspired again will then help people around them feel
inspired so again I think it's more about the internal changes than the external things
that they book the projects that they book I think that like one of my clients was saying
that her mom said oh you're you're so upbeat recently you're so positive and happy and
she was like yes I'm a month working with Erica so I think that it's more the internal
shift that impacts people around them in a positive way but I guess the things that they
the projects that they might book or the external things can kind of I guess with the internal
shifts also help impact people but what I'm seeing and what I and what I really hope is
that it impacts people for the better where it inspires other people to go after their
dreams and it shows other people what's possible when I first started out 13 almost 13 years
ago I read jack canfield's success principles it's my very first self-help book I ever read
and I was like this is the greatest thing ever I loved it so much and I think it really
helped me break in to Hollywood so quickly and one of the tactics that he talked about
was writing your goals on an index card and so I would do that for every goal for years
I don't do it anymore because my my belief around that has shifted a little bit but like
my dad started writing his goals down on index cards I was like that is so cool I think there's
something so incredible about inspiring others to go after their dreams or to believe in
more believe in more possibility for themselves by seeing people they know or love do it but
what if that doesn't happen what if it doesn't inspire others what if it takes another turn
what do you mean what if somehow they can't handle that have you seen that in like the
person who who's succeeding or the person that's watching them the person that's succeeding
what if some of the individuals around them that threatens them have you worked with your
clients on that and and how do they internalize that so they're feeling threatened by their
success or the dynamics changed power structures changed and so it upsets the apple cart yeah
I mean that absolutely does happen and I've coached many clients through that I think
especially with friends and I think that you can't control somebody else's journey right
so so like my client can't control their friend getting on board and being excited and being
inspired or feeling threatened or feeling not good about it or whatever right we can't
control somebody else's journey they're on their own path and so it's not up to us how
they feel and and one of the things that I work with my clients a lot is because a lot
of times when we're doing the mindset it's really the internal shifts that that impact
their relationships the most and and a lot of times I say that when you start changing
and growing what you used to tolerate becomes less tolerable so the people that maybe aren't
getting on board maybe were never meant to get on board with them right and maybe it
was something they were tolerating before but it's like they can't even tolerate anymore
they don't want to be around them right so I think that it's important that we surround
ourselves with people who support us and who want us to win and are and excited for us
and if people are feeling “Negative Nancy’s” they're feeling down that's okay they're on
their own path but the more we surround ourselves with people like that the more time we spend
with them the more it can start to drag us down if we're not incredibly strong about
our own energy and thought process so I never think it's about like oh you need to break
up with this friend I don't think it's necessarily about cutting people out of your life but
just being more present and and aware of the kinds of conversations you have with them
and and the things that they say and then how it impacts how you feel when you've had
a client reach tremendous success what were some of the surprises that they weren't ready
to handle
Well I work with I've worked with a lot of new people so tremendous success I don't know
if that's that's all relative and I don't know if I've like I don't know if I've ever
coached somebody that that achieved something so incredible that they weren't ready for
because I think that the work that we do gets them ready for it and that's always what it's
about like it's all again it's always the internal thing how do you feel about what
is happening and do you have support around you that's like why some of my clients end
up staying into like I have a membership where it's just a couple coaching calls a month
in a group setting so that they can keep up with the the work to keep up with that belief
system keep up with that mindset work so that as they do achieve things they have the support
system to to help them handle anything that comes their way so so some of this has never
come as a surprise to them it it's they they've taken these steps and they were ready emotionally
yeah nothing's ever a surprise I mean like because I train them to expect success and
I don't even I shouldn't even say I train them I don't want to take responsibility they
they shift their belief system to believe that their success is coming so nothing it's
never a surprise it's exciting and they're really happy about it and it's funny like
even small things one of my clients texted me the other day in our in her session she
she moved home during the pandemic and is going to move back to l.a soon and she was
like when do I move like I'm looking at places I don't know when the timing is right and
I said well when you find a place that you love that feels really good and I was like
watch I bet this week you'll find a place now that we have this conversation and she
texted me the next day and was like you won't believe one of those departments just became
available that I was interested in so there's never it's never a surprise it's expected
I mean it's it's surprised in the way of like wow this really did come true this really
did happen and there's excitement around that but never a surprise so expect success okay
I like that and do you think with the every people pool it's not expected correct I'm
hoping yeah correct I'm fingers crossed okay ask anyone ask ask most people ask them what
they believe about about their success and or about the next booking or the next job
or whatever and yeah most people do not expect it they expect failure or they expect it to
take a long time or they expect struggle.
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