The Secret is a 2006 film about the law of attraction, written and produced by Rhonda Byrne. It is told through interviews, so the cast is not actors. The people in it are teachers and authors, among them Bob Proctor, Joe Vitale, John Assaraf, Jack Canfield, Lisa Nichols and Michael Bernard Beckwith. David Cameron Gikandi, the author of A Happy Pocket Full of Money, was the Creative Consultant on the film.
This page explains what The Secret movie is, who appears in it, and what David’s role was. Then it gives his view of what the film got right and what it left out. Everything here is either on the public record or in David’s own words. We do not tell behind-the-scenes stories we cannot check.
What is The Secret (2006)?
The Secret is a film of about an hour and a half. It was made by Prime Time Productions, a company in Melbourne, Australia. Rhonda Byrne wrote it and was its executive producer. Drew Heriot directed it, and Paul Harrington produced it.
The film first came out online on 23 March 2006, through streaming and DVD. An extended edition followed on 1 October 2006. Its message is the law of attraction: the idea that what we think and feel draws matching things into our lives.
A book of the same name, by Rhonda Byrne, came out in late 2006. In February 2007 the book was featured on two episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
The Secret movie cast: who appears in it
About 55 teachers and authors were interviewed for the film. The extended edition uses 24 of them. Here are some of the best-known people who appear, with how they are usually described:
- Bob Proctor, author of You Were Born Rich, credited in the film as a philosopher.
- Joe Vitale, credited as a metaphysician.
- John Assaraf, credited as an entrepreneur.
- Loral Langemeier, credited as a financial strategist.
- Michael Bernard Beckwith, a minister. He founded the Agape International Spiritual Center.
- Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books.
- Lisa Nichols, Marci Shimoff and John Demartini.
The first edition also featured Esther Hicks, known for the Abraham-Hicks teachings. She later declined to continue with the project, and her footage was removed from the extended edition. In that version, the parts she had covered are narrated by Lisa Nichols and Marci Shimoff. So if you remember her in the film and can’t find her now, that is why.
Looking for the 2020 film with Katie Holmes?
That is a different film. The Secret: Dare to Dream is a romantic drama released in July 2020, directed by Andy Tennant. It stars Katie Holmes and Josh Lucas, and it is based on Rhonda Byrne’s book. The 2006 film on this page is the original, interview-based one.
David’s role: Creative Consultant on The Secret
David’s book came first. He wrote A Happy Pocket Full of Money in 1999. It became an international bestseller. In his own words, from his About page: “A few years later, the filmmakers behind The Secret asked if I’d consult on the project — the film that introduced the idea of the Law of Attraction to a much wider audience than anyone expected.”
He served as the film’s Creative Consultant. In one of his courses he described one thing the film leaned on: “we focused a lot on the concept of vibration. We humans are vibrational beings”. That idea, that our inner state sends out a signal the world answers, is at the heart of the law of attraction.
What the film got right
David believes the core idea. Thought and feeling matter. What is going on inside you is not a side issue. It is part of the cause.
His own book says the same thing in a different way. One line sums it up: “wealth is first a state of being which is then experienced”. In other words, the inner state comes first, and the outer result follows. For many viewers, The Secret was the first time anyone had told them their inner life mattered this much. That was a real gift. You can listen to David’s book on this site: A Happy Pocket Full of Money.
What the film left out
Then a lot of people went home, made a vision board, thought hopeful thoughts, and waited. For many of them, not much changed. Some felt worse, because now the lack of results seemed to be their own fault.
It was not their fault. In David’s view, three things were missing. Here is the heart of what he teaches now:
Because manifesting is as natural as breathing. The work is releasing the brakes, rising above the conditioning, and building real structure and flow around abundance.
- Conditioning. Most of what we focus on was handed to us as children. Manifesting does not only listen to the thoughts we choose for ten minutes a day. It listens to everything, all day, and the old instructions are louder.
- Brakes. These are old safety habits. They kick in just before a goal arrives. We go quiet before a launch. We lose interest the week the client says yes.
- Structure. Money needs somewhere to land: a clear offer, a price that holds, and a way to keep what comes in. David calls part of this financial plumbing.
Our page on the law of attraction goes through each of these in more depth.
What David learned after The Secret
David has told this part openly. A few years before 2022, his own finances came down hard. He had been the Creative Consultant on The Secret. He had written an international bestseller. And he was stuck. He asked himself: “How was I able to help so many others while I remained stuck”.
He had a vision board on his office wall. What he came to see was that there was another one inside him, older and quieter. In his words: “Like, sure I had a vision board on the wall, in the office. But it wasn’t as powerful as the vision that my subconscious had to maintain its old self.”
The turn came when he saw what he needed: “I didn’t need to learn how to manifest better. I need to learn how to become aligned, how to get out of my own way.” And: “Just like your breath happens automatically 24/7, you’re manifesting 24/7.”
These are David’s own views, and they’re contested. Many scientists see the law of attraction as focus, motivation and expectation, with nothing more going on. Either way, the practical work is the same. Change what you carry inside, and build what your goals need outside. If the film never worked for you, our page does manifesting work? explains why, and David’s course Why Manifesting Hasn’t Worked For You helps you find your own pattern.
Questions people ask
Who is in The Secret movie?
Teachers and authors, not actors. They include Bob Proctor, Joe Vitale, John Assaraf, Loral Langemeier, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Jack Canfield, Lisa Nichols, Marci Shimoff and John Demartini. Esther Hicks was in the first edition only.
Who made The Secret?
Rhonda Byrne wrote it and was its executive producer. It was made by Prime Time Productions in Melbourne, and Drew Heriot directed it.
Is The Secret a documentary?
It is made like one, with interviews. But it presents a belief, the law of attraction, rather than settled science.
What did David Cameron Gikandi do on The Secret?
He was the film’s Creative Consultant. The filmmakers asked him to consult a few years after his book came out.
Which books are like The Secret?
Many older books cover the same ground, from The Science of Getting Rich to Think and Grow Rich. See our list of the best books on manifesting and abundance, with what each one leaves out.
Where to go from here
The Abundance GPS masterclass picks up where the film stops. It shows the whole picture: why the law of attraction stalls for so many people, and what to do instead.
And if you want company for the work, the Abundance GPS community on Skool is where it happens. We help conscious entrepreneurs with adverse childhood experiences get out of their own way and release their brakes — so they can multiply their income and magnify their impact. Every tier opens with a 7-day free trial. Visit the Abundance GPS community.
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