On this day in 2017, Gord Downie died. Born in 1964, he was the singer and lyricist for The Tragically Hip from 1984 until his death. Considered a Canadian icon, he was involved in environmental and Indigenous activism later in life. 📸 Richard Beland

In 1994, Canada had a federal debt-to-GDP ratio around 75% and deficit-to-GDP ratio around 4.8% of GDP. The WSJ called us “an honorary member of the third world” and the Mexican peso crisis sent us into a tailspin. US debt-to-GDP just passed 100% and its deficit-to-GDP is 5.8%.

🎉 One million downloads of the Moolala Podcast! Wowsa, what a journey it’s been. I created Moolala: Money Made Simple to make money less complicated, more empowering, and easier to talk about. And now we’ve hit a milestone: one million downloads. To thank you all, we’re doing a giveaway. Two winners will receive: • A $150 Visa gift card • 2 signed books • A 45-minute virtual coaching session with me Enter by subscribing to the Moolala newsletter + sharing the personal finance question you’d most like answered. Enter here: creditcanada.com/moolala-giv… Good luck! #Moolala #OneMillionDownloads #Giveaway #contest

Beliefs are what we think is true. Truth is what remains true whether we believe it or not. Most people inherit their beliefs from colleagues, experts, family, friends, social media, and popular opinion without ever questioning them. Independent thinkers do the opposite. They ask questions, challenge assumptions, and stay curious about what might be true. That requires humility. The crowd can be wrong, but so can you. The goal isn't to win arguments. It's to learn. Challenging accepted ideas can be uncomfortable, but progress often starts with someone willing to question what others take for granted. First understand what is. Then imagine what could be. Then decide what should be. What belief do you hold today simply because you've never stopped to question it? Pick one assumption this week and challenge it. You may discover that your strongest conviction is either truer, or less true, than you think.

Psychologist and Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman on optimism, in Thinking, Fast and Slow: "If you are allowed one wish for your child, seriously consider wishing him or her optimism. Optimists are normally cheerful and happy, and therefore popular; they are resilient in adapting to failures and hardships, their chances of clinical depression are reduced, their immune system is stronger, they take better care of their health, they feel healthier than others and are in fact likely to live longer. Optimistic individuals play a disproportionate role in shaping our lives. Their decisions make a difference; they are the inventors, the entrepreneurs, the political and military leaders – not average people. They got to where they are by seeking challenges and taking risks. They are talented, and they have been lucky, almost certainly luckier than they acknowledge...the people who have the greatest influence on the lives of others are likely to be optimistic and overconfident, and to take more risks than they realize."