Cutting Through the Noise
May 29, 2025
Scott Armstrong, author of Retire and Aspire, highlights how mindset, purpose, and social connection can shape both your experience and longevity in retirement.
Read MoreApril 3, 2025
In our latest Coffee Break, we chat with Dr. Riley Moynes, author of The Four Phases of Retirement and TEDx speaker with over 4.5 million views, to unpack the deeper realities of retirement.
Read MoreJune 26, 2019
While on holiday in Greece, Scott stumbled across an interesting story about how a beer company is helping to reduce the country's debt.
Read MoreJune 30, 2014
1). Make ‘Snowball’ your holiday read. 2). Go to summer school with Professor Buffett. 3). Read ‘The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America’. 4). Grab a beer and popcorn and watch a few Buffett videos on YouTube. 5). Head to Dairy Queen for ...
Read MoreJune 16, 2014
I recently got back from a holiday in Europe. My wife and I crammed a lot into three weeks: Rome, the Amalfi coast, Tuscany, the Adriatic coast, Verona, Venice and Paris. #Yolo, as my niece says. It was our first time to Italy and France, and we took away many great memories, impressions, and carbs. One thing that stuck out was the ...
Read MoreMay 20, 2014
I read a lot in this job, out of both necessity and interest. I often find it refreshing to take a break from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, the Report on Business, etc., to read something lighter, inspirational, controversial, or just offbeat ...
Read MoreJuly 30, 2013
My wife made the mistake last year of telling my niece and nephews that we’d take them to Playland as soon as the youngest was tall enough to go on the rides. Well, Finn cracked the 48-inch mark recently and has been judicious in his daily reminders of our promise. With amusement park season in full swing, we were on the hook the other weekend for a day of fear, laughs, tears, lineups, mini donuts and stomach aches. Everyone’s heard the analogies about investing...
Read MoreJune 4, 2013
It’s spot prawn season on the west coast. The boats are pulling into Granville Island daily (mere blocks from Steadyhand headquarters) and selling their bounty directly to the public. It’s awesome. They’re live, fresh, sweet and local. And you buy them right from the boat. There’s no middlemen. No commissions. No administrative fees. No packaging charges. No transaction costs. For $12-15 a pound, you...
Read MoreMarch 8, 2013
The latest Steadyhand T-shirt minces no words. In bold white letters on a black shirt are the words Scott came up with to describe our philosophy around stock investing – concentrate dammit! We’ve had lots of interesting reaction to the shirt, but the best comes from Winnipeg. Lori and I gave everyone in the family (who we thought might wear it) a shirt for Christmas, including our nephew Branton...
Read MoreSeptember 18, 2012
My wife and I love wine. While we try to support local Okanagan producers as much as possible, we’ve found that our neighbors in Washington also make some great juice, and at good prices. We hit the road last month to explore Washington wine country with Walla Walla as our base camp. Here are a few random observations from our trip. Driving through the Columbia Valley, we had our first...
Read MoreSeptember 10, 2012
While I was cleaning out the cottage last week, I found a few old items that brought back memories. The Clarkson Bantam hockey jacket with the black leather sleeves was a beauty, although it doesn’t seem to fit anymore. Fortunately, neither does the Speedo with the maple leaf pattern. I found a pair of flip flops that were so old they were called thongs. And to my great surprise, my wooden toy box was...
Read MoreNovember 3, 2011
As a follow-up to my ‘Creep’ column last week (The Dangerous Rise of an Obsession with Safety), we’ve come up with a few more items for the list. As a reminder, we defined creep as a ‘slow and stealthy movement’. One you don’t notice while it’s happening...
Read MoreSeptember 12, 2011
As a kid, my family and I used to go on a summer holiday every year to Savary Island (a small island about 200 km north of Vancouver). It’s a bit of a hidden treasure, with white sand beaches, warm waters and an abundance of shellfish. There was no electricity, few cars and fewer rules (don’t bury your sister and be home for dinner). We loved it. I was back on the Island this summer and few things have...
Read MoreApril 25, 2011
How’s this for two totally different customer experiences. Recently I went into Sigge’s, a local cross-country ski store, to buy some equipment. I’ve been a ‘classic’ skier for years, but am increasingly feeling the pressure to keep up with my ‘skate skiing...
Read MoreAugust 6, 2010
Everything we read about the economy these days is depressing – too much debt, scary demographics (with regard to social security and healthcare), weak political leadership and a warming planet. As an antidote to this macro gloom, there were lots of positives...
Read MoreJuly 30, 2010
Investors have learned to deal with a lot of anxiety over the last couple of years, what with a severe credit crisis, major bank failures, derivatives gone bad and gyrating stock markets. Indeed, stress is becoming the new buzz word. Below are some stress-related observations and musings on the week that was. Stress tests: European banks were recently subject to a health check in the form of stress...
Read MoreJuly 9, 2010
Below are some observations and musings on the week that was – a recent feature that we’ve aptly coined The Back Hand. The Next Wall Street? – I’m desperately trying to come up with an investing analogy for the LeBron James signing with the Miami Heat
Read MoreFebruary 16, 2010
It’s Day 5 of the Games. As we’re lucky enough to be in the heart of the action here in Vancouver (or unlucky enough depending on your viewpoint), it’s time for a few observations: Canadians are bursting with pride and patriotism. Which is a good thing, no matter how you look at it. There have been a few early disappointments for the home team (Manny Osborne-Paradis...
Read MoreApril 12, 2009
Dig out the white towel and put the razor away. It’s playoff time. Get in on the action by entering the Steadyhand NHL Playoff Pool. Entry is free, and the winner will walk away with a team jersey of their choice. Tom would suggest a Mats Sundin Canucks jersey, of...
Read MoreDecember 20, 2008
I’m a sports fan. I’m a Canucks fan. I was a Mats Sundin fan. Until now. Mats’ little dance with NHL general managers is one of the most cynical things I’ve witnessed in sports - the NY Knicks signing of ...
Read MoreOctober 15, 2008
I don't watch the U.S. news networks very often, but being on the road during these interesting times, I've tuned in more than usual. What amazes me is the 'more is better' approach that they are all taking. When I ...
Read MoreAugust 20, 2008
Many great things come out of the Olympics. For two and a half weeks, the world turns its attention to stories of athletic passion, determination, and raw emotion. Billions of people will watch a man dive off a springboard, a ...
Read MoreMay 22, 2008
The price of a barrel of oil recently topped $135. Get out the balaclava. It’s time to steal us some crude. At least that’s the thinking of the opportunistic criminal in Texas. An article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday ...
Read MoreMarch 16, 2008
A pool in the spring could only mean one thing – March Madness. For basketball junkies there’s no better time of year. Sixty-four college teams vying for supremacy. The upsets, the Cinderella stories, the raw emotion. Who could ask for ...
Read MoreJanuary 2, 2008
Bell-bottom jeans, the Chia Pet, and the $5 latte. What do they have in common? All were seemingly ridiculous ideas that were brushed over and laughed at in the conceptual phase. But who’s laughing now? We were inspired by a ...
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