Howell Woltz on Restoring America by Returning to Its Constitution

In this interview, Howell W. Woltz talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about his book, Restoring America: by Returning to Its Constitution.



“Can you imagine any other profession, any other job in the world, where you can screw up eight out of ten times and keep your job and not have any penalty for destroying and ending someone’s life?” ~Howell W. Woltz

Howell Woltz has, since 1977, been speaking on the topic of the loss of constitutional freedom, which he attributes to Progressivism. He notes that the constitution is a contract between the people and the government, and in the constitution, what is now known as the federal government was intended to be limited in scope and powers, with the states, through the Senate, and the people, through the House of Representatives, would approve the actions of the government. At the time of the constitution’s implementation, the government had only 17 duties and could only prosecute 3 crimes. By comparison today, the present government has 1.97 million employees, with a pay average of $100k/year, some of whom are responsible for creating 314,000 plus laws in the past 40 years, laws which weren’t voted into existence, even though these laws are supposed to be passed, according to the Constitution, by Congress.

Howell points out that the adoption of Progressivism was where the original constitutional intent was no longer followed. He traced the main event behind the rise of Progressivism (which is a sociopolitical ideology which supports Statism) from a series of lectures taught by John Ruskin at Oxford University to the upper British crust. One of these was Cecil Rhodes, who was one of the driving forces behind British imperialism in the 19th century and who helped lay the stage for the Boer War, and who shared Ruskin's view that it was the white man’s obligation to rule the world benevolently.

Thanks to the 300,000-plus criminal laws, Howell points out that, according to Harvey Silverglate, the average American breaks an average of three felony laws each day, then points out that, which makes it easy for prosecutors to target opponents and take them down. This leads to some 2.3 million Americans being in the federal prison system (compared to about half a million in gulags at the peak of the Soviet Union’s power), with another 7.1 million people under court supervision and 71 million Americans now having a criminal conviction of one kind of another. Because of the Progressivist basis, these laws are outright racist, and Harvey gives the example of the difference in sentencing between a white country club drug user and a black, poor-neighborhood drug user. He points to an article done by undercover reporter James O’Keefe who uncovered evidence of some of the two million Progressives who openly stated that they work for the cause of the Democratic Socialists of America and that they are to promote Progressivism, rather than work for the American people, which is the job for which they are hired.

The first openly Progressive president was Woodrow Wilson, one of whose acts was to fire every black employee in the United States government. He was supported by such Progressivists as J. P. Morgan who, in the 19th century, began buying out newspapers to consolidate news media. Howell points to Ben Bagdickian who, in 1983, wrote that there were only 50 major American media corporations from the thousands that had originally existed. Fast forward to 2018, and only six major corporations in the United States now control 92% of American media content, which includes movies, cable, books and magazines, and that these corporations are controlled by 15 billionaires who support the Progressivist agenda. Howell sees social media as the only reasonable alternative to mainstream media, for all of social media’s shortcomings, and praises millenials for being extremely skeptical about advertising and messages from only “one voice.” That said, he notes that social media companies are now starting to clamp down on messages that don’t support the Progressive agenda.

Howell notes that kids nowadays have no idea what’s in the Constitution, compared to his childhood, when copies of the Constitution were on the wall and classes were taught in civics. Devolution is something which Howell notes may be necessary, in a way that returns the United States back to its constitutional roots, pointing out that, if all men are equal and are to be treated equal and fairly under the law, there is nothing to progress beyond that. He notes that, in the Constitution, power from the government derives from the people, which runs counter to the 17th Amendment, which effectively removed the link between the people and the Senate which, in turn, leads to Senators not being beholden to the people they are supposed to serve.

Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations, which laid the foundations for the classical free market economy, noted, according to Howell, that corporations were “a nuisance,” as they bribed and influenced politicians to better their own economic position. Howell points out that corporations have created the present situation where they are beholden to no single nation, and have created monopolies where large banks absorbed small banks which shut down because they couldn’t meet the financial reserves demanded by law - the kind of reserves that only the larger banks could afford. In the Constitution, only the citizens in the district where a politician was running could contribute to his campaign funds, and as corporations are now legal citizens of the United States, they are able to use their own monies to swing things their way.

Corporations becoming citizens sprang from an 1886 case of Sta. Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad, when the president of the Newburgh and New York Railway Company, which stood to benefit from a Southern Pacific Railroad victory, J. C. Bancroft Davis, was made the court clerk on the case. He added, in the court notes, that Chief Justice Waite, who had said that the case was not about the legal aspect of corporate personhood, agreed that corporations were citizens, based on such a statement; and it is because of this entry into the books that corporations are now considered citizens of the United States.

Howell himself has had experience with the system’s injustice, as he was imprisoned for 87 months, consisting of 29 prison moves, until he was released because he was never charged with a crime. He was forced to move to Poland when he was threatened by the marshals of the same judge who sent him to prison to stop writing what he was writing “or else,” as well as harassing his family. He notes that 82% of all people who are imprisoned or executed are either innocent of the crimes they have been accused of or have been charged improperly, with these figures coming from a court review of 5,760 cases over a 23-year period at the state and federal levels, which was reported in a Columbia University study co-authored by Professor James S. Leibman, called “A Broken System: The Persistent Patterns of Reversals of Death Sentences in the United States.” The study also showed that, in 73% of all capital cases, the person involved was executed despite gross violations of his rights. Prosecutors and judges, Howell points out, have judicially granted themselves immunity, which makes them non-prosecutable for the mistakes they made.

Purchase from Amazon: Restoring America: By Returning to Its Constitution by Howell W. Woltz

Joseph Rain on Making the First Steps to Self-Discovery & Writing The Unfinished Book About Who We Are

In this interview, Joseph Rain talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about his book, The Unfinished Book About Who We Are? Book One: First Steps to Self-Discovery.



“All truth arises from within.” ~Joseph Rain

Joseph’s journey on his present quest to understand who we are as human beings began at the age of fifteen, when he experienced a very painful skin condition for which there was no cure. Doctors said that this was due to a reaction to some chemicals, but Joseph realized that his skin would react violently when he felt or did certain things. This made him realize that our human bodies react to all that we do, and after doing some research on the power of the mind, he realized it was the emotions which were running in the background. He notes that there are feelings which accompany that which we say, and that was what was happening to him.

Joseph didn’t start writing about his journey until he was twenty-eight, when his brother committed suicide due to depression after staying with Joseph for two years - years when the two brothers had several discussions about their experiences with life. Joseph couldn’t sleep properly for six months after that, and it was during that time when he began writing out his thoughts. It was years later when he realized that he was writing about what humans were, as he researched philosophy, science, spirituality and religion, and it was ten years ago when people suggested that he write a book on all that he had learned from his introspection.

Joseph has actually written five books, the first two of which explain already-existing concepts, the third and fourth of which go within oneself as a human being, and the fifth one is along the lines of a “how to” practical workbook.

Humans, according to Joseph, don’t really fully understand what words mean, which means that the nature of words, and what some of these mean, needs to be explained, basic though these may seem or are. He also realized that people pass on knowledge without understanding why. Words, unknown to us human beings, create our reality, and some of the examples he expounds on are are:

• Beauty. This has meaning only when a self-aware observer sees something and decides that it is beautiful and what defines it as such.
• Life. What people call “life” is what should actually be called “living.”
• Living. This is actually the time given between birth and death, and what people actually spend is time, rather than anything else.
• Love. There are two kinds, according to Joseph.
• Earthly love. This relates to things which we like to do.
• True love. This is what we are.
• Truth. This is actually relative to an observer, as it is internally generated by that observer. Truth is thus actually co-created, and thus has different versions.
• Freedom. This is essentially the right to do what one wants, which would create anarchy rather than an organized society. Joseph argues that people actually seek “inner liberation,” which is the freedom to always be able to do what is right.

Animals have a different sense of reality from what humans have, Joseph notes, as they see and sense differently compared to humans. He also notes that the universe is just the way it is, once stripped of all the labels given to define its objects and perceived aspects.

There are four pillars to human knowledge and experience, according to Joseph:

1. Science, which deals with the facts and what is so in the physical universe.
2. Philosophy, which is based on reason. It covers metaphysical aspects which science cannot explain.
3. Spirituality, which is about personal experience. It is about deep introspection and one’s internal journey.
4. Religion, which is about faith.

All four of these pillars are intertwined amongst each other, and Joseph has searched for synergies amongst these. He notes that today’s education is all focused on intellect and data, and that there is a lot more out there where human experience is concerned, with emotional intelligence being neglected along with the spiritual. He points out that politicians may be intelligent, but they apparently lack emotional intelligence, given the way they operate. No culture has successfully integrated all four of these pillars, according to Joseph, but Joseph notes that there are some individuals who are attempting to do so, such as some gurus and people like philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris and psychologist Joseph Peterson. Such isn’t the mainstream at the moment, but Joseph believes that there is a shift that is starting to take place when these pillars will be integrated fully into everyday life.

A lot of the labels - words - which people presently use today to enable one group of people to stand out from others label concepts which weren’t around thousands of years ago, Joseph notes. Such concepts, in his opinion, will disappear once a society exists wherein people will combine the entirety of human experience to create a new society which is based on abundance and cooperation, rather than the separation that is the norm today. Distributing resources fairly becomes easier without all the separating mechanisms, according to him, and the basis for this separation is human ego, which came about from self-awareness.

Technology, in Joseph’s terms, is a way for humans to become more efficient, and this should be combined with responsibility, and notes that we can take a cue from Nature, which teaches what is right and what is wrong. He also notes that everything about human beings is about establishing relationships with everyone and everything around us, explaining how he learned that what stands between oneself and one’s success is communication, which is necessary in all relationships.

It is Joseph’s hope that we humans, by recognizing who we are, unleash their own potential to lead personally fulfilling lives. He notes that one’s feelings and emotions are generated from within, and these create one’s reality. Joseph also points out that change is the only certainty in the world, and that such words as “ageing” are emotionally laden versions of this word. He also notes that change creates reality, and that when it is acute, it is called “transformation,” and based on this, he remarks that: “Ageing is inevitable, getting old is a choice and death is a transformation into the unknown.”

Purchase from Amazon: The Unfinished Book About Who We Are? Book One: First Steps to Self-Discovery by Joseph Rain

Dr. Bruce Olav Solheim on Sharing His Paranormal Personal History

In this interview, Dr. Bruce Olav Solheim talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about his book, Timeless: A Paranormal Personal History.


“Experiencing is believing, and believing is experiencing.” ~Dr. Bruce Olav Solheim

Bruce comes from a family which came from an environment where the paranormal was accepted as a matter of course. His mother was psychic, and he, himself, has been experiencing paranormal events since the age of four, when he was healed from a serious illness after seeing a being which his mother later called his guardian angel. He has generally kept these events to himself and amongst his friends, as he was concerned about how others would perceive his stories, particularly as he was in the academe. He was, however, prompted to write Timeless after he received a vision after a friend had died of cancer and thus did so. Much to his surprise, the reactions to his book have been very positive, and a of people, when they learn that he is the writer of such a book, are willing to share their own paranormal experiences with him.

Paranormal experiences, Bruce notes, have been experienced around the world, and he notes that the fear of death and dying is not really a concern, as we continue on beyond our body’s death, which does make us all, essentially, timeless. He admits that mainstream science is resistant to paranormal research, and that funding is difficult to get for paranormal researchers, which limits the activities they can do. Bruce recommends looking up Dr. Dean Radin, who is the senior scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), an institute co-founded by former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, which conducts paranormal research. While the evidence seems to indicate that paranormal activity is real - such as the discovery that a different part of the brains of mediums becomes active when they get in touch with spirits - Bruce points out that the actual manifestations in the real world are more subtle than as is presented in movies, albeit no less profound. That said, Bruce admits that it is difficult for someone to believe in such phenomena until they’ve actually experienced it.

Bruce admits that he has had several good-aligned paranormal experiences, which is aligned with his own personal religious beliefs and which leads him to the conclusion and realization that different people have different levels of psychic strength; and so long as these are used for good purposes, that’s fine. That said, Bruce has also had some demonic experiences, with the scariest one being when he created a raw clay demon’s head at the age of twenty with the intention to scare someone who seemed to be in the demonic. He advises those exploring the paranormal to go by what they feel; for example, if they feel uncomfortable or fearful, there is likely to be a negative paranormal energy present. Bruce notes that demonic presences only have the power that one gives to them, and that they can be turned off “like an old radio” by such means as saying a prayer.

There are two main categories of ghosts, or physical apparitions, according to Bruce. One kind is a residual ghost or haunting, which he describes as being akin to a “tape loop,” and he gave the example of Mrs. Colby, the founder of the college in one of whose buildings he was spending the night in as being of this. The other kind is an interactive, intelligent ghost or haunting, and this can take the form of communicating with the spirits of those who have passed on. Bruce then mentions that the communication with these takes several forms, such as visual imagery or handwriting, and also mentioned that he has had some experiences with more malevolent beings, such as the one he had encountered with some ghost hunters the night prior to the interview.

The biggest thing Bruce has taken away from these is that people who have passed on strongly desire to speak with their loved ones on the physical plane, be it such general messages as “I love you” to “Check the oak box by the window.” He would also like people to know that we are both physical and spiritual beings and that, based on his own readings, the scientific quantum world is the realm of the paranormal. Bruce also mentioned a quote attributed to the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, where the truth, when it first comes out, is ridiculed, after which it is then challenged before being regarded as self-evident, and that this is presently the case where the paranormal and mainstream thought are concerned.

Purchase from Amazon: Timeless: A Paranormal Personal History by Dr. Bruce Olav Solheim

Xanet Pailet on How to Live an Orgasmic Life, Heal Yourself and Awaken Your Pleasure

In this interview, author Xanet Pailet talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about her book, Living An Orgasmic Life: Heal Yourself And Awaken Your Pleasure.



“There’s so much shame about having shame that you don’t even talk about shame.” ~Xanet Pailet

On the surface, Xanet seemed to have it all, with a successful corporate career and a great family and life, but she also had a lot of hidden issues, one of which was that, for her, sex was a physically painful experience. This led to around a decade of a sexless marriage while she was raising her family - which, she points out, is common in one in four marriages - which caused her marriage to briefly fall apart. She finally ended her marriage and realized she needed to address her issues so she could engage in an intimate relationship in the future, and it was when she worked with a Tantric practitioner that she began her journey of sexual healing.

For Xanet, writing the book was a way to bring out some story that was inside of her, and she got the title from the title of her vision board.

Xanet opines that the reason why women still don’t live a life of sexual freedom is because of shame, which she calls “the nastiest five-letter word in the universe.” She notes that shame has been inherited from generations past and shows up in the way people, starting from childhood, are made to be ashamed of their bodies and of their sexuality, which results in discomfort when dealing with one’s body and sexuality. She points out some examples of a boy made to feel ashamed about touching his penis and for children not seeing their parents touch each other, which results in their becoming uncomfortable with physical touch when they are adults. Shame, Xanet notes, is probably the top sexual issue, as one cannot open up to sexual pleasure until one works through the layers of shame that one possesses. Xanet notes that several ancient cultures, such as the Hindus, the Greeks and the Romans, were sex-positive, which showed in the deities they worshipped and their references to genitalia.

One in four women, according to Xanet, have experienced sexual abuse and trauma, and this has had an enormous impact on those who have experienced these, but other factors also come into play, such as women not being able to ask for what they want or not even knowing what they want sexually. Xanet notes that women possess a clitoris, a part of the body whose only function is to give a woman pleasure, but that cultural programming influences women to say “No” to sex, pointing out the different messages told to boys and girls in their teenage years. She also points out the disjunction in sexual messaging for women, in that they are supposed to not engage in sexual relations until they’re married, but once they are married they are supposed to become sexual goddesses - something which is difficult to become when one is unfamiliar with, or ashamed about, sex and one’s body.

Women are more anatomically disconnected from their bodies than men are, Xanet explains, giving the example of the difference in sexual anatomies of males and females. Male sexual anatomy is outside the body, so it is easy to associate pleasure with such natural reactions as erections, but the female sex organs are within the body, so there’s nothing to see, literally, when a female becomes sexually excited.

Other issues that keep women from becoming sexual involve having emotional blocks around certain issues, as Xanet points out that a woman will not be able to express herself sexually when she’s feeling resentful, since women need to feel emotionally connected to their partner before opening up sexually.

Sexual healing is different for every person, Xanet notes, and the journey begins by recognizing that one has an issue to resolve, coupled with a curiosity about what is really going on within oneself. Finding support along the journey is also important, as women are most comfortable speaking about their deepest concerns in an environment where they feel safe, and this can be found in all-female workshops as well as other venues, one of which is the path Xanet took, Tantric healing. Xanet likens the experience of her own sexual healing as that of her being a closed flower whose petals slowly open up over time. She notes that the sex center is the seat of one’s power and creativity, and sexual energy is extremely potent, so that connecting with one’s sexual energy enables one to transform one’s life. Xanet notes that people who are so connected have more confidence and are healthier and less stressed, and that positive things and people then get attracted into their lives.

The most important mental shift necessary for women to take, Xanet remarks, is for them to redefine what sex is, other than the act of intercourse itself. According to Xanet, sex is any action or activity that creates an erotic feeling, which could be as simple as holding the hand of one’s partner or having a massage. This, she notes, takes away all of the expectations and performance anxieties surrounding orgasm, which enables one to become present to the experience, rather than being in one’s head about what one needs to do. “When we’re thinking, we’re not feeling,” Xanet remarks, “and sex is when we’re feeling.”

Xanet also tells women that they are responsible for knowing what they like and what arouses them, which is a big surprise to many that she tells this to. This means that women need to understand their own bodies so they can better communicate this with their partners, to give the latter guidance, particularly if the partner wants to know how to pleasure a woman. Xanet also remarks that women’s arousal shifts change daily, because their arousal system is more complicated than a man’s, and that women need time and some processes to bring them up to full arousal; indeed, “Slow everything down,” is Xanet’s advice, as women take 30 - 40 minutes to get aroused, and building up tension is important where arousal is concerned.

Long-term relationships can remain sexual with partners requires communication, according to Xanet, as both need to talk about feelings, emotions and what works and what doesn’t. She also remarks that this has to be a priority in one’s life, pointing out that a lot of couples stop having sex when raising their children, which means that sex needs to be placed on the calendar as well as to change things up.

To those who are struggling, Xanet notes that they should not give up, as they are not broken and that there is help available. She also recommends that people appreciate what is working in a relationship and nourish these, and for people to be curious about the many ways they can engage sexually with their partners.

Purchase from Amazon: Living An Orgasmic Life: Heal Yourself And Awaken Your Pleasure by Xanet Pailet

Michael C. LeMay on Immigration Policy, Ethnicity, and Religion in United States History

In this interview, Michael C. LeMay talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about his book, U.S. Immigration Policy, Ethnicity, and Religion in American History.



“Immigrants bring a very hard work ethic.” ~Michael C. LeMay

Michael has a bit of a personal stake in writing U.S. Immigration Policy, as he comes from a family of immigrants and noticed how interested his students were in immigration in the context of a minority setting, which led to his writing at least a dozen books on the topic.

Michael coined the terms for the various eras of immigration policy, which are:

• The Open Door era (1820 - 1880) - very little restrictions on immigration.
• The Door Ajar era (1880 - 1920) - some restrictions placed on immigrants.
• The Pet Door era (1920 - 1965) - most immigration blocked, save for a select few, mostly from northern Europe. Immigration quotas were implemented here.
• The Dutch Door era (1965 - 1980) - immigration quotas maintained, while certain sectors were allowed in.
• The Revolving Door era (1980 - 2001) - a period when illegal immigrants became a concern.
• The Storm Door era (2001 - present) - immigration is highly restrictive due to security and health concerns.

The United States can exist without immigration, Michael notes, and he points out that, in the long run, immigration benefits the nation as a whole, as immigrants bring in new blood and new talent. Immigrants who enter the United States move out of their countries of origin because of economic reasons, such as a failed economy, religious oppression, natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks or failed agriculture, as was the case during the Irish Potato Famine of the 19th century. He also notes that the United States makes the most of what, in other nations, would be a brain drain, as highly trained professionals work in the United States because they can earn more there than they would in their native land, such as Irish nurses or Philippine medical doctors. A shift in national identity is also inevitable with immigration, and Michael speaks of the “browning” of America, pointing out the Miss America contestants and winners as an example.

Where Japan is concerned, Michael notes that immigration is tight because of their concern with cultural homogeneity.

He also notes that there are inevitable short-term concerns and tensions when immigrants enter, as the social and cultural balance is upset in the short term. The ones who would be most threatened by immigrants are those whose livelihoods might be affected by an influx of these, such as blue-collar, lower-skilled workers who would lose out to immigrants who would be willing to do the same kind of work they do for a lower pay level.

Immigrants, however, benefit the United States in the long run, as several of these are entrepreneurial in nature, creating businesses and companies in the long term, which create wealth, economic opportunity and jobs. Michael notes that the United States has, until recently, been the recipient of the “brain drain” that occurs in other countries, where the brightest, most skilled and entrepreneurial members of those countries choose to work in the United States rather than in their native countries.

With regard to present issues, Michael notes that the creation of a southern border wall is a useless and unnecessary policy. He opines that guest worker programs can be put into place to regulate entry and that entry be allowed only at particular points. He also notes that electronic surveillance and vetting are important, and that immigration needs to be tied up to foreign policy; after all, he notes, if the economies of Central American countries like Mexico improve, people would stay there because they have good-paying jobs. Michael notes that foreign policy and immigration have always been intertwined, giving the examples of the Burlingham Treaty with China in the 1880s, followed by the Chinese Exclusion Act a few years later, as well as Theodore Roosevelt’s “Gentleman’s Agreement” with Japan, where Japan was economically pressured to control their emigration to the United States.

Immigrants have served with great distinction in the military during such conflicts as World Wars One and Two, Michael remarks, which helped them gain citizenship faster. In his opinion, immigration isn’t being viewed historically or holistically by the present administration, and that immigration concerns should be viewed in the long term, rather than just over the next few years. Michael also notes that immigrating into the United States requires the would-be immigrant to pass through stringent vetting procedures.

Purchase from Amazon: U.S. Immigration Policy, Ethnicity, and Religion in American History by Michael C. LeMay

Saeeda Hafiz on Her Journey from Poverty to Inner Riches (The Healing)

In this interview, Saeeda Hafiz talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about her book, The Healing: One Woman’s Journey from Poverty to Inner Riches.



“Be as authentic as you can be in your journey.” ~Saeeda Hafiz

Saeeda initially intended The Healing to be a calendar to enable people to get in touch with themselves, but she then realized that, as she did so with other people, she found herself telling the same stories over and over again. It was because of this repetition that Saeeda decided to write The Healing as it has presently become.

Saeeda mentioned that, as she went along her journey of living healthy, she would occasionally get flashbacks of childhood traumatic events. She grew up in an environment of poverty and domestic violence, with her mother being the only parent who brought up her and her siblings. This upbringing permeated her life and the lives of her siblings, particularly when it came to stretching the money available.

Saeeda notes that, within the African American community, there is a conversation that getting an education ensures that one rises above the circumstances of one’s poverty, but that doing so isn’t easy if the community and environment don’t support that goal. She gives the example of her grandfather who claimed he was doing okay, despite getting only a junior high school education, and he then pulled her father into what he was doing. She notes that there are changes involved with assimilating into an environment different from the one that one grew up in, and that not everyone is comfortable with this. Saeeda thus used food and yoga to center herself as she underwent this kind of journey of curiosity and development.

Although friends had tried to get her to try out yoga during college, Saeeda became involved in it after she graduated. She acknowledged that she initially resisted going to yoga classes, particularly as she was the only black student taking up yoga and her classmates were twice her age and could hold yoga poses she couldn’t yet hold, and could hold their poses longer than she could. Saeda nevertheless felt that yoga was a calling for her, and that, at the end of the classes she took, she got a sense well-being and peace, as well as that healing was about to happen.

Saeeda remarked that the conversation of doing certain things will result in freedom from the past isn’t a truthful one. She notes that, in her experience, eating food that was “alive” helped her synthesize her childhood experiences. Yoga also helped her understand that there was a path of moving these experiences through herself to create a deeper sense of health. Saeeda also remarked that eating the proper kind of food and yoga helped to lift herself from those negative experiences, particularly any shame associated with these. She then points out that this can be useful when coming to terms with the parts of a family’s or a country’s history that were traumatic, as acknowledging and integrating these aspects is actually what enables one to move on. Saeeda also remarks that empowering one another is important to move on, and that people need to own their actions to allow forces to come into play, so everyone can move forward together.

Saeeda notes that there is always power in the present moment, where one can look where one presently is and realize that there is something one can do to help change one’s present direction. To those who may be struggling with the traumas of her past, Saeeda recommends that they try to connect with their own, inner voice, the voice of their true self, and see what it’s telling them, noting that it takes a lot of work to run away from oneself, which is easy to do with the distractions available today.

Purchase from Amazon: The Healing: One Woman’s Journey from Poverty to Inner Riches by Saeeda Hafiz

Lisa Rehurek on How to Do Better in Business and Win More with RFPs

In this interview, Lisa Rehurek talks to Alexander “The Engineer” Lim, host of AuthorStory by alvinwriter.com, about her book, The RFP Success Book.



“Don’t try to do it all by yourself.” ~Lisa Rehurek

RFPs are Requests for Proposals, which are issued by organizations such as large corporations or the government, who look for contractors or vendors who can supply the needs of that organization. RFPs can be as short as a few pages or, particularly in the case of the United States federal government, can run into thousands of pages. The responding businesses need to submit their requirements and experience and solutions for the proposal seeker to then see how good the fit is with their needs.

Because of the occasionally detailed RFPs issued, Lisa’s present business is to aid small businesses, which would most likely not have the necessary manpower or competency to respond accurately to RFPs, do just that. The RFP Success Book was born out of Lisa’s realization that she kept on repeating the same themes over and over again with her clients and in her blogs, and as such it would probably be best to put all of these themes into a book for all and sundry to read and learn from.

Lisa notes that, in addition to the technical requirements and specifications, RFPs can also include such requirements at legal, insurance, price points, deadline for submission and even if the response needs to be printed on recycled paper and what the specific margins and font of the reply should be in. While big companies have an in-house RFP team which works solely on analyzing RFPs, small companies - who may receive only six to ten RFPs a year - don’t have such personnel and are likely will not have the competency to do so, as these small companies are likely to be staffed by people who are dedicated to the company’s core business.

Lisa points out that successfully responding to RFPs is important for businesses, particularly if the contracts are worth millions of dollars and can last years. She notes that those submitting proposals should meet the requirements and understand what the evaluation criteria are, and also remarks that one of the top mistakes that businesses responding to RFPs make is not answering the question that is asked for, such as giving a ten-page answer on their company’s history rather than explaining their methodology to complete a particular task. Lisa also remarks that the businesses responding to RFPs should take particular note of multi-tiered questions, such as asking for different kinds of pricing and then providing the details to these.

Lisa notes that businesses should take note of what the client needs and wants. She also notes that responders should remember that, at the end of the day, it will be a person who will be reading the RFP response, so it should appeal and maintain that person’s interest accordingly as well as ensuring that the proper solution can be provided. Based on her experience, Lisa remarks that around ten percent of all RFPs are rejected outright, and that around half fail to impress with the proper solution. Getting an RFP rejection does have an impact on a business, she notes, as a lot of time and effort would have gone into answering the RFP, which could be torpedoed by one, single mistake.

Businesses should also be aware that an RFP is also essentially a sales and marketing call, and that standing out from a bunch of other RFP responses will increase one’s chances of successfully getting the contract concerned, according to Lisa. It is thus important that companies be able to translate their technical speak into something the RFP evaluator can understand, as the latter might not have the same level of technical expertise as those responding to the RFP may have.

Businesses, particularly those who get RFPs from the government, may have to play a waiting game, as their potential clients may take months before finishing evaluating the RFP responses they get, and this does have a potential impact on a business, where staff and resources are concerned, as these might not be sufficient to cover all of the contracts awarded. Management of RFPs is thus a vital part of a company’s business.

To those who would respond to RFPs, Lisa would say to really pay attention to answering the question as it was asked, and then to be as simple and as succinct as possible in their reply, as a business has only two or three seconds to appeal to, and attract the attention of, the one reading the reply. She also advises that businesses not get intimidated by the RFPs they receive, and to get help from others to successfully respond to these.

Purchase from Amazon: The RFP Success Book by Lisa Rehurek