Every once in a while, you hear a story that makes you pause.
Not because it sounds like a motivational quote.
But because it feels strangely real.
My conversation with actor, writer, and producer Martha Higareda gave me one of those moments. It started with something simple: a young girl standing on an escalator at Universal Studios, looking out at the movie studios in front of her and imagining the life she wanted.
At the time, she had no idea that moment would stay with her for decades.
The childhood lesson that shaped everything
Martha grew up in Mexico with parents who believed deeply in mindset and possibility. Her father introduced her and her siblings to ideas like neurolinguistic programming, affirmations, and visualization long before those ideas became popular.
He believed something most of us are never taught as children: what we put into our minds shapes the life we eventually create.
So Martha filled her bedroom walls with affirmations written as if her dreams had already happened. One of them said she was grateful because she had done a movie with Keanu Reeves.
To anyone walking into that room, it probably looked unrealistic. But to her, it was simply a statement of belief.
The escalator experiment
When Martha was fourteen, she visited Los Angeles with her father. They went to Universal Studios, and while riding the long escalators that overlook the studio lots, she looked out across the sound stages where movies were being filmed.
Her father suggested something unusual.
He told her to shout into the future.
So she did.
Standing there on that escalator, she yelled out that one day she would live in Los Angeles and work in the movie industry. For her, it was a moment of excitement and imagination, something shared between a father and a daughter who believed deeply in possibility.
Life moved forward, as it always does. Years passed.
When belief meets reality
Listen to Martha’s full story here.
Many years later, Martha was back at Universal Studios. This time she wasn’t visiting as a tourist. She was there as an actress auditioning for a film.
As she walked through the studio lot with a script in her hand, something stopped her. She turned around and saw the same escalators she had stood on as a teenager.
The memory came rushing back instantly.
In that moment she did something extraordinary. She shouted back toward the escalators, almost as if she were speaking to her younger self. She thanked that younger version of herself for believing so strongly in the dream.
Not long after that moment, she booked the film.
The co-star was Keanu Reeves.
Exactly the scenario she had written on the wall of her bedroom years earlier.
The part of success we rarely talk about
What I appreciated most about Martha’s story is that she didn’t pretend success solved everything. Even after reaching major professional milestones, she found herself questioning parts of her life that still felt unresolved.
She spoke openly about doubts, relationships, and the internal work that success alone cannot fix. That honesty resonated with me because so many women experience the same thing. We chase goals believing the next milestone will bring clarity, only to realize that growth continues long after the achievement.
Martha described a practice she uses when doubt appears. She imagines herself much later in life, looking back from the end of her journey. Then she asks that future version of herself what truly mattered.
The answer is usually simple. Follow what feels true. Build the life that aligns with your values. Trust the path that feels right in your heart.
Why this conversation stayed with me
What stayed with me from this conversation wasn’t just the manifestation story. It was the reminder that belief, mindset, and inner work often begin much earlier than we realize.
The seeds planted in childhood can shape how we see opportunity for the rest of our lives. And sometimes the dreams we speak out loud long before they seem possible have a way of finding us again years later.
Listen to the full episode
If you want to hear the full story—including Martha’s journey through manifestation, doubt, personal healing, and the lessons she learned along the way—I encourage you to listen to the full episode of Potential to Powerhouse.
It’s one of those conversations that reminds you how powerful belief can be when it’s paired with action, reflection, and a willingness to grow.
High Five,
Tracy