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Introduction to VIEW
Joe Hudson's VIEW framework — Vulnerability, Impartiality, Empathy, and Wonder — has changed how I approach hard conversations and my own emotions.
Hi, I'm Ross. Welcome to my corner of the internet.
This is my digital garden: a running feed of notes, photos, quotes, and essays on technology, design, spirituality, and whatever I'm learning lately. More about me →
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My own personal Xanga
I haven’t been active on social media in years. But building out this new site — my own little Tumblr-shaped corner of the internet — has brought back the joy and innocence of the early days, when posting was just fun. There’s something freeing about throwing a stream of consciousness into the void again. It almost feels like I built my own personal Xanga.
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Your AI is not a tool. It is an environment, and you are in it.
— L. M. Sacasas
This idea really struck me, and I've been digesting it for several days now. My first reaction was to immediately fall into binary thinking — either I go all in on AI, or it's time to give it up. But I think there has to be a more non-dual position.
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Silence is God's first language; everything else is a poor translation.
— Thomas Keating
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Living into your purpose is mostly a consciousness problem. The thing you're supposed to do in this life already exists. The question is whether you have the awareness to see it?
— Scott Britton
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buildingasecondbrain.com ↗
AI Second Brain
Tiago Forte's course on bringing AI into the Building a Second Brain method. It wasn't earth-shattering, but I appreciate his measured approach to AI, and several of the frameworks he presented have been genuinely useful in how I approach AI now.
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Developing agency is useful, but there is a bigger game you can play. It's working on the context you apply agency from, which simultaneously increases agency.
— Scott Britton
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saaslandingpage.com ↗
SaaS Landing Page Inspiration
A curated collection of SaaS landing pages. Most of my career has been spent building marketing sites, so I'm always studying how the best ones are structured to convert.
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Easy book annotating in under 2 minutes
I use this trick all the time, and it's so much easier than underlining or highlighting.
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I will always be obsessed with these insane NASA photos of the moon.
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Mass Relevance reunion at El Arroyo.
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I started to view the primary function of my worldly pursuits as a mirror in order to show me what I was resisting and causing me to react. The primary goal was to evolve my level of consciousness, and the world was the classroom.
— Scott Britton
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Paul Musso ↗
Microphilosophy Foundations Course
Paul Musso's cohort-based foundations course in philosophy. It really helped me develop my own worldview and beliefs — learning to reason through the big questions instead of just inheriting ready-made answers.
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writerbuilder.com ↗
AI Steering Wheel
A framework for steering AI writing so it keeps your voice instead of flattening it. I've been thinking a lot about how to write with these tools without sounding like everyone else.
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It's rare that we have a snow day like this in Central Texas.
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notionicons.so ↗
Notion Icons
A searchable library of customizable icons for Notion. I practically live in Notion, and I love that you can tune the color of each icon to match a workspace.
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Still a sucker for a good airplane photo of the clouds.
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The Liturgy of the Feet
Exploring how the simple act of walking can quiet the mind, reset the spirit, and transform habitual rumination into a sacred practice of presence.
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Always good to see Jeff Tweedy live. This show did not disappoint.
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What a gorgeous chapel at Cedarbrake in Belton.
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ukcopticicons.com ↗
Coptic Icons
Traditional Coptic Orthodox iconography. I've been drawn to the visual language of ancient Christianity lately, and there's a stillness in these that I keep coming back to.
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Brand as Operating System
Exploring how successful B2B SaaS brands function as operating systems of promises and proofs, driving internal alignment and customer trust.
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Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love.
— Simone Weil
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It may be corny but the Bay Cruise in SF was so much fun. Seeing Alcatraz in real life was surreal.
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We had so much fun with Lucy at the Pier in San Francisco.
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Train of Tears: Learning to See the Sacred Everywhere
A reflection on finding beauty and meaning in unexpected places, and how everyday moments can become sacred when we learn to truly see them.
LINK
saasinterface.com ↗
SaaS App Design Inspiration
A deep gallery of real SaaS UI patterns. I reach for references like this whenever I'm designing app screens and want to see how others have solved a particular flow.
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The World is a Gift
Reflecting on Terrence Malick’s 'The Tree of Life,' this piece explores the tension between living by nature—competition, control—and living by grace: trust, gentleness, and the radical idea that reality is a gift, not a contest.
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Writing by Design: The CODEX Method
Drawing parallels between ancient manuscript creation and modern writing practices, this piece reveals how structure can paradoxically unleash creativity
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Do My Words Need a Crowd?
Reflecting on the relationship between writing, audience, and the intrinsic value of putting thoughts into words.
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Choosing Peace
Reflecting on the choice between living from a mindset of power or peace, and how embracing trust, humility, and a deeper order can reshape our responses to setbacks and redefine our sense of worth.
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simplesignature.email ↗
Signature Editor
A clean, no-nonsense editor for building HTML email signatures. I've hand-coded enough of these over the years to really appreciate a tool that just gets it right.
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Silence is an intentional cultivation of availability.
— James K.A. Smith
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The Grammar of Surrender
Exploring the language and structure of letting go
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Curiosity is underrated. In many ways, it's the engine of life. You get these questions, and they don't go away. And so you follow them, you set out to answer them.
— Rob Bell
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One of the ways in which we most securely insulate ourselves from transformation is by having lives that are too full for stillness and solitude.
— David G. Benner
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From Certainty to Mystery
A personal journey through Paul Ricoeur's stages of faith, exploring the transition from literal belief to a deeper, post-critical understanding of spirituality.
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The Explorer's Mindset
Embracing curiosity and exploration in writing, moving beyond the pressure of expertise to share authentic learning journeys.
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Such a great view of Birmingham from my hotel window.
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The Paradox of Arrival
Examining the arrival fallacy and how our obsession with destinations can distract us from finding meaning in the journey itself.
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Engaged in the creative process we feel more alive than ever, because we are making something and not merely consuming. In doing this work, we are in fact creating ourselves.
— Robert Greene
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Ego Deep Dive
Exploring Dr. Richard Beck's honeycomb model of the ego to understand and cultivate a healthier relationship with our inner selves.
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The Lost Art of Doing Nothing
Rediscovering the value of boredom and how allowing our minds to wander can enhance creativity, problem-solving, and self-awareness.
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More than the grand beauties of our lives, wonder is about having the presence to pay attention to the commonplace.
— Richard Rohr
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Growing on an Infinite Trellis
Exploring Gregory of Nyssa's concept of 'spacing' and how embracing our limitations can lead to continuous growth and transformation.
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Craftsmanship means dwelling on a task for a long time and going deeply into it, because you want to get it right.
— Matthew B. Crawford
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Design Thinking for My Life
Applying design thinking principles to personal and professional challenges, from career transitions to parenting, to create more intentional and effective solutions.
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A Pleasing Chord
Exploring the emotional power of music and how it can provide comfort, connection, and natural endorphin release in our daily lives.
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Absolutely nothing has made me feel more important than becoming a father.
— Donald Miller
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Tsundoku
Exploring the Japanese concept of tsundoku and how collecting unread books can be a valuable practice, similar to wine collecting.
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On Obligation
Reimagining obligation as a pathway to deeper connection and belonging, rather than a burden or constraint on our freedom.
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Sabbath isn't a time to catch up on tasks. Nor is it simply a time of rest to prepare for a busy week. It is a time to revel in the beauty and delight of simply being.
— Casper ter Kuile
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The Beef Wellington Plan
Applying Scott Young's ultralearning framework to master complex skills through deliberate practice, experimentation, and consistent commitment.
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Beautiful spaces are sacred spaces.
— Richard Beck
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When I speak of wonder, I mean the practice of beholding the beautiful.
— Richard Rohr
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Embracing the Unknown
Exploring how doubt and questioning can deepen spiritual understanding through curiosity, humility, and non-dual thinking.
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I Am the Niche
Challenging the conventional wisdom of 'niching down' in writing by embracing diverse interests and using writing as a tool for personal exploration and connection.
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Making art now means working in the face of uncertainty; it means living with doubt and contradiction, doing something no one much cares whether you do, and for which there may be neither audience nor reward.
— David Bayles & Ted Orland
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How I Improved my Public Speaking
Practical insights from the Ultraspeaking course on boosting confidence, charisma, and impact in public speaking through emotional expression and presence.
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How to Connect Deeply with Others
A practical guide to the VIEW framework for building deeper connections through vulnerability, impartiality, empathy, and wonder.
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How to Do Design Feedback
Practical strategies for effective design feedback in remote teams, balancing individual input with collaborative sessions to foster creative growth.
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There is ecstasy in paying attention. You can get into a kind of Wordsworthian openness to the world, where you see in everything the essence of holiness, a sign that God is implicit in all of creation.
— Anne Lamott
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Atomic Essays
Discovering the power of atomic essays - concise, shareable writing pieces that make consistent writing more accessible and impactful.
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Blogging and social media don't make you better at your craft; doing your craft makes you better at it.
— Paul Jarvis
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This is my favorite room at The Kelly in Birmingham.
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Work a Book
Transforming how we read non-fiction books by treating them as conversations, focusing on learning, remembering, and applying knowledge.
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Quantity Creates Quality
Exploring how embracing quantity and separating the creative flow from editing can lead to higher quality outcomes in design and beyond.
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Design Ops
An exploration of DesignOps and how it bridges the gap between creative design and structured development processes.
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Define the Problem
A practical framework for problem definition using Tim Hurson's Productive Thinking Model to better understand and solve complex challenges.