Podcast
The Measuring Post
Hosted by Joe Massa · EN
The Measuring Post is a podcast about growth, not perfection.
It’s a place to pause, reflect, and measure what actually matters in your life, your work, and your personal development. Not by comparing yourself to others, but by comparing who you are today to who you were yesterday.
I'm Joe Massa, and I created this show because I believe growth isn't a solo journey. Each week, you’ll hear thoughtful interviews with incredible guests: entrepreneurs, leaders, creatives, and everyday people doing meaningful work, sharing real experiences, lessons learned, and practical insights you can apply right away. These conversations are designed to help you think differently, grow intentionally, and move forward with clarity.
Alongside the interviews, you’ll also find The Daily Measure, short, bite-sized solo episodes focused on simple words of wisdom and actionable ideas you can use in your daily life. Think of these as quick check-ins to help you stay grounded, focused, and consistent.
This isn’t about hype or shortcuts. It’s about honest conversations, small improvements, and growing together over time.
If you’re someone who values progress, reflection, and becoming a better version of yourself, you’re in the right place.
Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, join the conversation, and grow with us.
18episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Defying Tax - Janna Scott on The Measuring Post
6d ago00:39:55Tap to summarizeJanna Scott didn't set out to build a software company. She set out to answer a simple question her clients kept asking: are my crypto taxes accurate?So she ran an experiment. She took one wallet with 350 clean, simple transactions — straight buys, sells, and conversions — and ran it through every major crypto tax product on the market. Fourteen products. Some of them backed by multi-billion dollar companies. Two of them under contract with the IRS itself.She got fourteen different answers. Some differed by tens of thousands of dollars.Nine months of forensic accounting later, Janna had a full breakdown of why every product was wrong, where the math broke, and how the algorithms were quietly allowing users to commit accidental fraud. She offered her research to all fourteen companies for free. They all said no. One tried to sell her the product on the call. Then in September 2023, every one of them quietly changed their calculations without telling a single user who had already filed.Janna and Joe got into the John Doe letters the IRS has been quietly sending out since 2021, the $147 billion in crypto capital gains the IRS has on its radar, the absurd "shareholders" example where one exchange and two crypto tax products it part-owns all spit out three different numbers from the same data, and what DeFi Tax does differently — pulling directly from the blockchain with no edit options, building an audit trail that holds up in front of the IRS, and adding tax strategy on top of compliance.#FourteenAnswers #CryptoTaxes #DeFiTax #JohnDoeLetters #BlockchainAudit #themeasuringpost
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Seventh Gear: Sean Martin on The Measuring Post
2w ago00:59:38Tap to summarizeSean Martin sang his first opera at seven years old in a 5,000-seat tent in Mendocino. By twenty, he was an airborne infantryman jumping into Iraq on the 18X special forces fast-track contract. He came home with a Combat Infantryman Badge, the death of his best friend Jeff Bisson on his conscience, and PTSD the Army barely recognized.What the military taught him about turning on a "seventh gear" of combat readiness, it didn't teach him how to turn off. For nearly five years he white-knuckled it through the civilian world — getting fired from service jobs because the thousand-yard stare kept dragging him back to Iraq mid-sandwich, playing the card game Memory at the VA because he couldn't finish a round in 30 minutes. In 2012 he had a psychotic break that finally landed him in a VA psych ward, surrounded by doctors who told him to lay it all out for the first time.Music became the path back. Not just performing, but writing songs from inside the war he was still fighting in his head. Sean and Joe got into the loss of Jeff Bisson a day and a half before he was scheduled to become a Golden Knight, the difference between the stage and the studio, how scrupulous management cost him an entire album, and why he believes perspective plus gratitude is the only formula that pulls someone out of the deepest hole.
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The Cash Flow Clock with Gary Preisser
3w ago00:44:48Tap to summarizeGary 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
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Permission Proximity: Shannon Fernando-Rubera on The Measuring Post
3w ago00:37:42Tap to summarizeShannon 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
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Retirement Reality with Ben Millan
May 700:51:39Tap to summarizeBen 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
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Steel Reserve with Trish Steele
Apr 1600:42:39Tap to summarizeTrish 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
Transcribe →Selling Smarter with Jacquelyn Goldberg, VP of Sales at Unframe.
Apr 1400:32:57Tap to summarizeJacquelyn 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
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Pet Power with Dr. Judy Morgan
Apr 200:55:24Tap to summarizeDr. Judy Morgan, an integrative veterinarian with over 40 years of experience, joins Joe Massa on The Measuring Post to deliver a wake-up call about the state of pet health in America. Dr. Judy pulls no punches about what's going wrong and what pet owners can do about it. This conversation covers over-vaccination risks, the dangers of ultra-processed pet food, the corporate consolidation threatening veterinary care, and practical steps every pet owner can take today to give their animals longer, healthier lives.#holisticpetcare #pets #pethealth #themeasuringpost
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Patient Empowerment with Dr. Ann Hester
Mar 2600:43:47Tap to summarizeDr. Ann Hester is here to break down how to navigate the system with confidence.With years of experience in internal medicine and a passion for lifestyle medicine, she shares insights that can empower patients to take control of their health. From understanding the importance of lifestyle changes to knowing how to communicate effectively with your doctor, Dr. Hester's advice is invaluable.Remember, it’s not just about treating symptoms; it’s about understanding the root causes and how to address them. Let's start a conversation about taking charge of your health journey. 💪 #PatientEmpowerment #LifestyleMedicine #HealthAdvocacy #WellnessJourney #TakeControl #themeasuringpost
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Finding The Ideal Work Environment with Justin Ferland of Serendipity Labs
Mar 1900:34:29Tap to summarizeEver feel lost in your own workspace? Let’s talk about how to create a productive environment that helps you thrive!Whether you work from home or in an office, having the right space is crucial. It’s not just about a desk; it’s about creating an environment that separates work from personal life. Decluttering isn’t just physical; it’s mental too. Setting boundaries helps you enjoy your downtime while maximizing productivity when it counts! Remember, a dedicated workspace can transform your productivity and promote a healthy work-life balance. What’s your workspace like? Let’s swap tips!#ProductiveSpace #WorkLifeBalance #CoWorking #HomeOffice #SerendipityLabs #themeasuringpost
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