"Know in your mind what you want and believe you can
have it."
It might seem especially difficult for a young, divorced woman with two young children to support and no professional skills to move thousands of miles to a new city. But Lisa's is a success story worthy of Sidhas' admiration, and an inspiration to those considering moving here.
Lisa learned the TM-Sidhi program in California, and then took her flying block in Fairfield the summer of 1983. She wanted to stay in Fairfield, live with the largest group of Sidhas in the world and do her program in the Golden Dome. But at that time the job market for someone with a degree in a degree in literature was not sufficient to support her and her children, Leila (5) and Gabriel (3). She decided to move to the town with the next largest Sidha community, and took a ride to Washington with barely enough money to share gas.
Once in D.C.,she sublet an apartment in the Blair complex and tried to make ends meet by selling health care products firm. Torn between the economic need to work more hours and the desire for time to care for her children, she left the job in May when their school recessed for the summer.
Lisa called the Word Processing Association (WPA), a network of local Sidhas with word-processing skills, in hope of getting part-time work. It is run by Rick Shaddock and Frank McLaughlin. "I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I knew how to type and wanted the chance to learn how to use computers," she says.
WPA members train each other free of charge, make job assignments as agroup. She drew $3.00 per page while she was training, which earned her hour at the outset, and up to $12 hourly with within two weeks as her speed improved. During the traing period she chose her own hours and -a special advantage-she could bring her children with her when necessary.
Lisa put in as many hours as she could, gained speed, and learned how to use WordStar and WordPerfect software. With new skill and work experience behind her she registered with several temporary placement agencies recommended by the WPA" I felt a quantum leap in confidence--I was now a specialist with a marketable skill to offer," she says.
Lisa was soon very much in demand at several agencies that sent her on assignments throughout the Washington area. "Many places I work longer and to come in the next day, but I do need to spend time with the kids and get to program," she adds.
Although temporary workers do risk job insecurity and sacrifice employee fringe benefits, they may earn more per hour than full-time employees. Lisa recently began a month-long freelance job with two other WPA members for $15 per hour. Working a standard 40-hour week at $11-$15 per hour, she could earn about $25,000 this year - twice the national average for men and woman.
Many people consider working throug a temporary agency merely a way to get by until a "real job" comes along, but Lisa shows that it can be a viable way for a Sidha to earn a living. Far from her early days of "scraping by", Lisa now can afford to by a car and new clothes, send her children to Age of Enlightenment School and move with another Sidha mother to a "cute, comfortable house" in wooded Takoma Park.
With determination and perseverence Lisa has managed to live life on her own terms: making a living, caring for her children and doing her program with a large community of Sidhas. All you have to do, she says, is "know in your mined what you want and believe you can have it."