Mary McManus, New World Greeting Cards

Mary McManus, Boston Marathon finisher,inspirational speaker, published poet, entrepreneur & former award winning social worker turned adversity on its head after being diagnosed with post polio syndrome in December, 2006. Mary turned to writing inspirational poetry to heal her life. She never imagined the path that would unfold before her.

A Brave New World

At the age of 53 Mary was diagnosed with post polio syndrome, a result of her original polio affliction that began when she was just five years old. She always persevered and made the best of a very difficult physical situation getting around with a cane or a wheelchair when her condition got worse.

After 25 years as a social worker, Mary was eager to finish 3 more years at her job with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Boston, MA so she could retire with full benefits. The post polio syndrome became increasingly debilitating and there were days when Mary could literally not get out of bed. She worked with a team of occupational and physical therapists to help get her to the 3 year retirement goal but ultimately continuing to work at the VA was counter-therapeutic to the gains she was making in rehab.

Her job as a social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs was incapacitating physically and emotionally so based on the advice of her doctors, Mary left her award winning career in May of 2007 with a heavy heart. But Mary is a deeply spiritual person and believed that divine intervention was part of her new life and began to write as part of her catharsis and personal therapy.

Poetic Justice

Mary always loved to write and she created original poetry to commemorate and celebrate special occasions for family and friends. She recalled that the poems just flowed out of her after she left her job as a social worker and she then knew that there was a bright future ahead and a new career opportunity. Mary’s husband encouraged her to create New World Greeting Cards, original poetry for every occasion.

For two years Mary grieved the loss of her career as a social worker. But, she has a dream team of support in her family and has recreated a new identity as a poet that has tapped her creative talents.

How does one make a living as a poet? This was a concern for Mary too and she pulled out her entire retirement account to fund New World Greeting Cards with the blessing of her husband and her daughter, Ruth Anne, who said “You can’t afford not to pursue this new poetry business and you should write a book!” Mary believes that when you are on the right path and you believe in yourself, everything else will fall into place.

Poetry in Motion

Like any entrepreneur, Mary now has to promote her business and her brand. She has tapped into the social media resources including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. She subscribed to Help A Reporter Out to pitch her story. She authors a blog and has joined social communities including Polio Today, Daryn Kagan and Just Finish.

Mary is a frequent guest on radio shows and also builds her audience through the polio survivor network. As a Boston University and Boston College alumna, Mary has also reaped the benefits of the alumni networks at both schools. She even took on a public relations intern from Boston University to help her grow the business. Mary has discovered ‘non traditional’ venues to share her journey, her books and her business. She was invited to host a table at the Hyannis Race Expo because of her charitable donations and inspirational journey. She will be an exhibitor and inspirational speaker at this year’s Boston GreenFest 2010 to share her journey and her strategies for health and wellness.

Cognizant of the power of giving back, Mary writes gratis poems to promote awareness for the business. Examples include writing birthday poems for her friends on Facebook, an anniversary poem for a local restaurant and a poem to commemorate her town’s Department of Public Health and the first green building in the city.

Setting Sail

Mary’s daughter was right about books being a part of her mother’s new career. Mary discovered the gift of poetry in her soul. She has since written two books of poetry: New World Greetings: Inspirational Poetry and Musings for a New World and a sequel: Set Sail for a New World: Healing a Life Through The Gift of Poetry. Both books are available via her website and at online book retail sites. True to Mary’s belief that giving back is a part of any success story, she donates 20% of book proceeds to Hope Charitable Trust (to help children crippled by polio in India to walk again) and The Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

While the new career journey is scary at times, especially without a steady paycheck and benefits, Mary appreciates many new work values such as freedom, autonomy, the opportunity to create a balanced day and being accountable only to herself.

“I create how I want to measure success now. It’s no longer by how many patients I saw in a day and believe me it’s taken awhile to let go of those values that were instilled and drilled into me after almost 20 years at the VA.”

Still, there are challenges for Mary in grieving the loss of her social worker role identity.

“I was at the top of my game as a social worker at the VA. I received many awards and accolades. Stepping way outside of my comfort zone and doing something I had never done before with this business made me feel vulnerable because I had a lack of knowledge and business savvy. Starting a new business venture and new path in life after just being diagnosed with a progressive neurological disease is a challenge but I’m up for the task!”

Words of Wisdom

Mary has learned to give herself quiet time to ask for direction and listen to her voice of intuition. When Mary left the VA, she used a 30 day journal with 3 sections for each day to write down her goals and action steps. She continually asks herself “What do I want to do if I know I can only succeed?” She uses a gratitude journal giving thanks for what she has achieved and to focus on guidance for next steps.

An avid reader, Mary seeks poetic inspiration as well as life lessons from authors like Lisa Nichols, Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Terry Cole Whittaker and Deborah Hill. Mary has given herself the gift of following her joy and bliss and makes time for creative outlets in her life. She uses exercise to manage stress and fear, and to forestall the progression of post polio syndrome. She was limited in what she could do physically during the initial phase of her transition due to post polio syndrome so she turned inward to meditation and visualization to harness the power of her mind and her spirit.

Perhaps the greatest physical challenge Mary has accomplished was completing the 2009 Boston Marathon, one of the most difficult marathon courses in the country.

26.2 Miles

Mind over matter does not begin to describe Mary’s tenacity and passion to overcome obstacles. She would not let post polio syndrome get the best of her physically so she decided to face the lion directly and push her body to the limit by running the Boston marathon.

Her daughter and husband joined her for this personal quest and trained and ran the event with her to lend their support and enthusiasm for her journey. Mary worked with a professional trainer and physical therapist to get her into marathon shape.

Team McManus crossed the finish line of the 113th Boston Marathon at 4:49 pm 7 hours and 49 minutes after taking their start at Hopkinton, Massachusetts with mobility and visually impaired runners. In the ultimate gesture of giving back, Team McManus raised over $10,000 for Spaulding Rehab Hospital – the facility which helped Mary take the first steps on her healing journey.

Conquering Heartbreak Hill

The Boston Marathon is known for the treacherous Heartbreak Hill segment of the course that challenges the most accomplished of runners. Mary crossed the finish line for the marathon and tackled Heartbreak Hill which is a metaphor for her life. She is a woman who overcomes obstacles.

Now that the marathon is over, Mary continues to manage her symptoms of post polio syndrome and her social security disability is helping to resolve her financial challenges. She wished she would have applied for social security disability benefits sooner so that she would have freed up her creative energies rather than doing a lot of reacting out of fear about her finances.

New World Greeting Cards is going well and Mary continues to develop new ways to increase her business presence. Original poems begin at $20 for a card and $50 for a keepsake poem. Mary works with clients individually to customize keepsake poetry for one-of-a-kind gifts.

Her future goals include working with Rotary Clubs to eradicate polio and raise awareness and monies to fund research for polio and post polio syndrome. She also looks to expand her network for inspirational talks, and book signings and has another book project in the works with Bernie Siegel, MD about poetry and the art of healing.

Mary has brought joy, hope, healing, and celebration to others through her gift of poetry. She has overcome monumental challenges in her life and is thriving in a new career that she never would have imagined just a few years ago. As far as an award winning career? Mary was one of six finalists for 2010 Brookline Woman of the Year and was honored at their annual award ceremony “Women Who Inspire Us”. She has been chosen to be interviewed by Boston’s # 1 FM radio station, Magic 106.7 for their Exceptional Women Show. Indeed it is a new world for Mary McManus and a brilliant reinvention.

Mary’s Advice and Action Steps: