Peppy life coach draws on cancer, Jewish roots

NEW YORK — As a young girl, Michelle Ward spent a lot of time writing songs to perform for her family. When the self-help author and life coach faced a health crisis two years ago, she picked up a ukulele and returned to songwriting.

The 35-year-old New Yorker received a Stage 1 breast cancer diagnosis in November 2011. She had just broken into life coaching, following years of chasing theatrical roles and unsatisfying corporate jobs.

With a new career, new husband and swanky new home in Brooklyn, the world had finally become Ward’s oyster — or so she thought.

“The diagnosis came out of nowhere,” Ward said. “Because of my life-coaching clients, I felt a need to be public about what I was going through. I did not want to stop coaching during treatment, so I chose an unbelievably odd way to tell everyone: I wrote and performed a bunch of songs.”

Starting with “I Got Boob Cancer,” Ward sang her way through diagnosis, treatment and complications. Peppered with Yiddish words and references to being Jewish, Ward’s so-called “titty ditty” songs — including “I’m Gettin’ New Boobs” — found an audience on YouTube.

Last summer, an effusive Ward sang about breast cancer in the past tense for the first time. Performing at the World Domination Summit in Portland, Oregon, Ward recounted the journey between diagnosis and recovery.

“As you might have guessed, my life isn’t in shambles, on June 5 I was told I have unremarkable samples,” Ward sang to applause. “The boob cancer’s gone, I can say with glee, and my new cropped ‘do has me feeling breezy.”

Ward’s turn to a ukulele and video camera during her ordeal is not surprising, given her background.

Growing up on Long Island, she attended supplemental arts school and appeared in local productions. After graduating from New York University with a degree in musical theater, Ward performed everywhere from cruise ships to an episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

But it wasn’t until she turned 27 that Ward decided to be honest with herself, she said.

“I had stopped auditioning and did not want to pursue theater and acting as a career,” she said. “A career coach had told me that getting a nose job would help me get more acting roles.”

A six-week career-change workshop helped point Ward in the right direction — that of becoming a life coach for creative but dissatisfied women.

“I realized that I wanted to help others find their own path, especially creative types who thought they wanted one thing their whole life and now had to rewrite their plans,” Ward said. “I wanted to help them figure out what they wanted to be when they grow up.”

Ward still had to endure a few more “traumatic” jobs herself, and two years of training with the International Coach Academy. But the former actress was on her way to becoming “The When I Grow Up Coach.”

Clients usually hire Ward for 12 sessions through her “Growin’ Up Goods” module. Via Skype or phone, she coaches them for three 45-minute sessions each month.

Ward helps women — and the occasional man — clarify personal goals. She provides customized action steps and ongoing email support.

“There are three kinds of people I coach,” Ward said. “People who don’t know what they want to be when they grow up, but know what they are doing is not working; people who know what they want to do but don’t think they can do it; and people doing something they love but who need a jump-start.”

For some clients, progress comes after returning to a forgotten skill or hobby. In Ward’s case, performing songs before and after her double mastectomy was therapeutic and restorative.

“I’ve never been unable to find the ‘how’ for a client once we found the ‘what,’” Ward said of helping people find satisfying, creative work. “We all have vampire voices in our heads saying we can’t do it. But with the Internet today, even people who are very isolated have amazing creative opportunities.”

In addition to coaching, Ward has spent half a decade blogging, Tweeting and Facebooking her way onto the self-help circuit. In June, she published “The Declaration of You,” a book about how to “find it, own it and shout it from the rooftops.”

Sold in crafts and self-help book sections across the US, “Declaration” guides readers through “every life topic,” from intention to love to money. An “Own It” section profiles creative people who’ve found success, and the “Make It” chapters ask readers to get crafty while envisioning the future.

Ward and co-author Jessica Swift also invented a motivational mascot for the book – Pierre François Frédéric — a flamboyant Frenchman who already learned to “declare” himself.

Think “Dear Abby” meets Dr. Seuss, and using what’s around the house for creative activities.

“Declaration” began as the authors’ online workshop in 2010, two years before North Light Books agreed to publish it. The production process coincided with Ward’s diagnosis and treatment, offering an important outlet for self-care, she said.

“I love what I do, and it was my release and relief,” said Ward, who maintained client sessions during months of chemotherapy.

Ward also points to her Jewish heritage for helping her find creative ways to cope. The author “strongly identifies” with being Jewish, and celebrates Jewish holidays, she said.

“Being Jewish is a very traditional piece of who I am,” said Ward. “It’s a big part of my relationship with my mother and an attachment for me.”

Ward’s speech and writing are filled with Yiddish words, and she sometimes misses her maiden name — Solomon — for its evident Jewishness, she said.

Her husband, Luke Ward, is also Jewish, and in the creative industry. A comedian and content writer, Ward appeared in some of his wife’s song clips, most notably a guilt parody called “Cancer Card.” The couple met on Friendster in 2006, and married two years later.

Having coached well over 200 women, Ward said her career is in transition. Technology allows her to work with many clients each month, but at the expense of developing other aspects of her business, she said.

Last summer, an effusive Ward sang about breast cancer in the past tense for the first time

In the months ahead, Ward will trim her client roster to focus on group work, training other coaches and networking. With fewer coaching sessions, Ward will still aim to give others what she once longed for herself: a creative way to earn a living.

“Michelle helped me choose a career path based fully on me,” said Tiffany Han, a former client who transitioned from retail sales to owning a studio and coaching others. “She taught me that being creative is an asset, not a liability, and that the key to career fulfillment was harnessing that instead of working against it.”

Ward admits she can be over the top and “hippy dippy,” but she’s managed to make a career of it. Two part-time assistants help her hold center stage through a popular blog, special events and cyber-outreach.

A penchant for creative expression helped Ward deal with her personal crisis, not to mention guide her clients. The musically inclined “When I Grow Up Coach” finally loves what she does, and promises to help other creative types get there, too.