Permission Proximity: Shannon Fernando-Rubera on The Measuring Post

The Cash Flow Clock with Gary Preisser

Gary Preisser grew up thinking there were only three real professions: teacher, lawyer, or doctor. Numbers came easy, so he ended up in tax prep, where he made an early discovery that shaped his whole career. People got excited about big tax refunds, and Gary had to break the news that they'd just loaned the IRS money for a year at zero interest. That moment defined how he thinks about wealth: the function of every dollar matters more than the feeling of holding it. Four and a half years ago, Gary co-founded Stonebriar Wealth Advisors with one mission — strip out the jargon, the hidden curtains, and the cookie-cutter risk questionnaires that dominate the industry. In their place: ask better questions, design around purpose, and time the money to match the moment. Gary and Joe got into the cash flow clock, why bonds are quietly killing returns for younger investors, the difference between asset allocation and asset location, why a fiduciary label doesn't mean someone's good at their job, and the one Aesop's fable lesson most retirees miss — the ants ate the food. They didn't just admire it. #FunctionOfWealth #CashFlowClock #AssetLocation #StoneFramework #purposefirst #themeasuringpost

Permission Proximity: Shannon Fernando-Rubera on The Measuring Post

Shannon Fernando-Rubera was rejected from all 13 medical schools she applied to in 2007. Instead of reapplying, she got on a plane to Kenya and lived in Kibera, one of the largest informal settlements in Africa. That detour became her actual calling. Fifteen years later, the organization born from that rejection, Alabaster International, has spread to Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sri Lanka, brokered an unprecedented agreement between the Ethiopian and Kenyan governments to share a drought-resistant crop called NSET, and earned recognition twice from the Clinton Global Initiative. Shannon and Joe dug into the philosophy that drives the work: communities are partners, not victims. The best solutions already exist within the cultures being served. Aid is a short-term band-aid; sovereignty is the real goal. And the simplest framework she lives by: permission and proximity. You can't lead from a distance, and you don't lead at all without being invited in. #PermissionAndProximity #AlabasterInternational #TreeAgainstHunger #WomenLed #communityled #themeasuringpost

Retirement Reality with Ben Millan

Ben Millan pulled back the curtain on what most financial advisors won't tell you about retirement planning. After pivoting his practice to focus exclusively on seniors during COVID, he developed a contrarian philosophy: forget the famous 4% rule and chasing a magic dollar amount. The only number that matters is your income gap, the difference between your guaranteed monthly income (Social Security, pension) and what you actually need to live on.  Joe and Ben covered why annuities have been unfairly demonized (Social Security is technically the most common annuity in America), how to properly structure indexed universal life insurance as "the rich man's Roth," why 95% of advisors don't know how to set these products up correctly, and the brutal math of why putting away less than 10% of your income mathematically guarantees you won't retire well.  #incomegap #retirementplanning # stressfreeretirement #measuringwhatmatters #themeasuringpost #seniorfinances

Steel Reserve with Trish Steele

Trish Steele joins The Measuring Post to share her seven-decade journey from childhood trauma to becoming one of the most recognized advocates for domestic violence survivors in the country. After losing her father as a young girl, losing 70% of her hearing at age five, and enduring years of abuse from her stepfather, Trish built a life defined by resilience, not victimhood. She went on to fulfill her childhood dream of working in the entertainment industry as a beauty consultant before a violent encounter with her fiance became the catalyst for founding Safe Passage Heals, a nonprofit that connects domestic violence survivors with pro bono plastic surgeons, dentists, and doctors to repair the physical scars of abuse. Recognized by Presidents Obama and Trump and featured on CBS, Fox, and The Doctors, Trish later launched Women of Steel alongside her daughters Shawna and Michelle, a mentorship movement built on three pillars: strong, spiritual, and sensational. Now in her seventies, she runs women's retreats across California and coaches women through what she calls "mindset renewal," proving there's no expiration date on reinvention. #mindset #themeasuringpost #domesticviolenceawareness #survivor

Selling Smarter with Jacquelyn Goldberg, VP of Sales at Unframe.

Jacquelyn Goldberg, VP of Sales at Unframe AI, joins Joe Massa on The Measuring Post to break down what it really takes to build and lead high-performing enterprise sales teams in the age of artificial intelligence. With over a decade of experience scaling B2B SaaS sales organizations across AI, data, and enterprise software, Jacquelyn shares the hard-won lessons, mindset shifts, and tactical frameworks that separate average sellers from elite closers. From saving a deal by showing up to "break up in person" to explaining why intellectual curiosity and grit matter more than a big company logo on your resume, this conversation is a masterclass in modern sales leadership. #enterprisesales #salestraining #b2bsales #unframeai #themeasuringpost