Where, Exactly, Is Lapland?
And A Good Week At GoodSeed
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” CS Lewis
Hello Extraordinary Person! Happy Saturday! Thanks for stopping by my Substack.
To learn why this Substack exists, why it’s called Cairns, and what I talk about, visit my About Page.
Subscribe for free. New posts delivered to your inbox every Saturday!
GoodSeed Updates Below - But First: Random Musings
Northern Lights - Substack has been overtaken by the Northern Lights this week. My feed has blown up with stunning photos. From the hundreds posted, here are a few of my favs.
The lights were visible where I live (the Denver, CO area), but once again I missed them. I was unaware they’d be visiting us, so I didn’t roll myself out of bed to witness the awe. I’ve been waiting my entire life to see the show, but alas, another opportunity missed. I think I’ll have to book a flight to Lapland someday to see them. They don’t show up in Colorado very often. Hopefully, you got to see them. (BTW: where is Lapland? It’s in the nebulous, numinous European North somewhere, right? Do they have an airport?)
Nudge - if you fancy yourself a photographer, you need to be on Substack. So much great work out there. You could be showcasing yours to people like me.
Outrunning My Shadow - Twilight comes early these days. I didn’t get my bike ride in till late on Friday. The shadows I was casting along the trail made it look like I was about 20 feet tall.
Then, the sun dropped below the mountains in the west. And I had no shadow.
Random questions occurred to me: Does there come a day when we give up our shadows? A day when we are free of those things that have followed us around for years? A day when we leave the shadows behind? Will it be good to be rid of the shadow?
This is the kind of free-from-association stuff that happens to me when I get on a bike. It gives my mind freedom to breathe. Mostly, it’s nonsense. Sometimes not. Most of it’s forgotten. But a few thoughts stick.
My answers to all those questions turned out to be yes. There will come a day when we outrun the shadows and ride off - not into the sunset, but into a light that casts no shadow. A place beyond our Northern Lights.
And I also recalled: this GoodSeed thing is one of the thoughts that have stuck.
GoodSeed…Good Week
It’s been a really encouraging week at the ‘ol GoodSeed development factory.
First, I’ve had multiple meetings this week with folks who have reached out through my networks. Cheerleaders and champions are not enough to launch a business (the idea actually has to generate real-world marketable solutions after all), but they are validating the idea, excited about what’s ahead, and egging me on. I’ve gotten great feedback this week.
Here’s one example: A comment left on my LinkedIn page from a mentor I studied under while doing some grad work at the University of Denver (Go Pios!).
GoodSeed advances empowerment and social justice by expanding who gets to build—and who gets to invest in—solutions that strengthen human flourishing. I strongly support its founder, whose vision and integrity anchor this work and open doors for people long excluded from capital and opportunity. Congratulations.
I feel the idea is starting to get some traction when your audience can parrot back to you what you’re all about - even better than you can say it yourself.
Next, the first draft of the website is done. I’d say we’re about 75% of the way there. Some design work is left to be done, need to upload a lot of content, test it out with a focus group, etc., but it’s coming around.
And you, as a valued follower/subscriber to the Cairns Substack, get a first-look, sneak peek at the header.
Then, I set up a fiscal sponsorship as a first step in taking GoodSeed live. I wrote about fiscal sponsorships here.
Finally, I extensively reworked the founder survey I mentioned last week. It’s a high art form to design questions that give you the feedback you really need. This final version is out for a test run with a few founders now. I’ll get final tweaks back from them and send it out next week. From there - well, we’ll see if there actually IS a market for this thing….
GoodSeed hopes to inspire thousands of everyday Christians to collectively invest millions of dollars over the coming years in startup companies that promote the physical, social, and/or spiritual well-being of our neighbors.
Wrapping Up
Here’s a quick poll question for you awesome subscribers to my Substack.
A Quick Shout Out
Again, thanks to Fika Coffee House in Parker, CO, for becoming the unofficial Cairns hangout. Fika is a Swedish verb which, loosely translated, means “to meet over coffee.” Been doing the majority of my writing/posts there. Shouting out to both locations - thanks for the space and lattes.
Be Swell Extraordinary People!!
Thanks for reading Cairns! Subscribe for free to automatically receive new posts in your inbox.