Ross Gebhart

Hi, I'm Ross. Welcome to my small 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 →

QUOTE
AI is powerful but taste-blind. It can make anything but it has no idea what's actually worth making. But AI + your taste? That's the game-changer. The more AI can execute, the more your eye for what's interesting — your ability to discern and curate what matters and why — becomes everything.

— Sari Azout

The more I make and automate with AI, the more I realize how scarce judgment is — asking whether a thing is worth making at all. That's not a skill I'm learning directly from AI, but one I'm learning implicitly from its use.

QUOTE
Take reading. You could use AI to summarize/extract the key points. Or you could lean into expansion, actually read the book cover to cover and find a paragraph that stirs something in your soul that sticks with you for years.

— Scott Barker

I've often used AI to summarize books, but I've discovered that if I stop at the summary, nothing penetrates. When I read deeply and mark up a book, its contents go much deeper.

TEXT

Where Grace Meets the Ego

A layoff, a consulting business I'm building, and the karma yoga idea that the work I most want to avoid might be exactly where grace is trying to reach me.

QUOTE
The single most important realization I've had working with connectors is around how comprehensive AI's "reading" of external data tends to be. What an LLM does instead is "strategically sample" and selectively read only the parts it thinks are relevant, just as a human would.

— Tiago Forte

I ran into this exact trap using MCP connectors in Claude — assuming full ingestion when it had really only grazed a thin slice. Knowing it's strategic sampling, not comprehensive reading, changes what I can actually trust it to know.

VIDEO

Introduction to VIEW

Joe Hudson's VIEW framework — Vulnerability, Impartiality, Empathy, and Wonder — has changed how I approach hard conversations and my own emotions.

TEXT

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.

QUOTE
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.

QUOTE
Silence is God's first language; everything else is a poor translation.

— Thomas Keating

QUOTE
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

LINK
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.

QUOTE
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

VIDEO

Easy book annotating in under 2 minutes

I use this trick all the time, and it's so much easier than underlining or highlighting.

PHOTO
The view from a spacecraft window of a vast, heavily cratered lunar surface in the foreground, with the Moon hanging in black space beyond.

I will always be obsessed with these insane NASA photos of the moon.

PHOTO
The El Arroyo restaurant in Austin, its marquee sign reading "Want peace of mind? Inquire within" beside a cottage with a yellow awning and palm trees.

Mass Relevance reunion at El Arroyo.

QUOTE
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

LINK
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.

LINK
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.

PHOTO
A child in a puffy coat walks across fresh snow in front of a single-story brick house under a bright blue sky.

It's rare that we have a snow day like this in Central Texas.

LINK
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.

PHOTO
The view from an airplane window of clouds lit gold by a low sun, with the engine cowling visible at the corner.

Still a sucker for a good airplane photo of the clouds.

TEXT

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.

PHOTO
A six-piece band performing on a theater stage under deep blue light.

Always good to see Jeff Tweedy live. This show did not disappoint.

PHOTO
The interior of a chapel with a timber-framed vaulted ceiling, a blue half-dome painted with stars above a crucifix, stained-glass windows, and rows of blue-cushioned chairs.

What a gorgeous chapel at Cedarbrake in Belton.

LINK
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.

TEXT

Brand as Operating System

Exploring how successful B2B SaaS brands function as operating systems of promises and proofs, driving internal alignment and customer trust.

QUOTE
Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love.

— Simone Weil

PHOTO
The Golden Gate Bridge seen from water level, sunlight flaring through its towers against a blue sky.

It may be corny but the Bay Cruise in SF was so much fun. Seeing Alcatraz in real life was surreal.

PHOTO
A toddler in a purple star-print skirt reaches up toward a seagull perched on a weathered wooden pier railing, the ocean behind her.

We had so much fun with Lucy at the Pier in San Francisco.

TEXT

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.

TEXT

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.

TEXT

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.

LINK
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.

QUOTE
Silence is an intentional cultivation of availability.

— James K.A. Smith

TEXT

The Grammar of Surrender

Exploring the language and structure of letting go

QUOTE
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

QUOTE
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

TEXT

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.

TEXT

The Explorer's Mindset

Embracing curiosity and exploration in writing, moving beyond the pressure of expertise to share authentic learning journeys.

PHOTO
Downtown Birmingham at golden hour seen from a high window, the City Federal tower rising above quiet streets.

Such a great view of Birmingham from my hotel window.

TEXT

The Paradox of Arrival

Examining the arrival fallacy and how our obsession with destinations can distract us from finding meaning in the journey itself.

QUOTE
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

TEXT

Ego Deep Dive

Exploring Dr. Richard Beck's honeycomb model of the ego to understand and cultivate a healthier relationship with our inner selves.

TEXT

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.

QUOTE
More than the grand beauties of our lives, wonder is about having the presence to pay attention to the commonplace.

— Richard Rohr

TEXT

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.

QUOTE
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

TEXT

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.

TEXT

A Pleasing Chord

Exploring the emotional power of music and how it can provide comfort, connection, and natural endorphin release in our daily lives.

QUOTE
Absolutely nothing has made me feel more important than becoming a father.

— Donald Miller

TEXT

Tsundoku

Exploring the Japanese concept of tsundoku and how collecting unread books can be a valuable practice, similar to wine collecting.

TEXT

On Obligation

Reimagining obligation as a pathway to deeper connection and belonging, rather than a burden or constraint on our freedom.

QUOTE
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

TEXT

The Beef Wellington Plan

Applying Scott Young's ultralearning framework to master complex skills through deliberate practice, experimentation, and consistent commitment.

QUOTE
Beautiful spaces are sacred spaces.

— Richard Beck

QUOTE
When I speak of wonder, I mean the practice of beholding the beautiful.

— Richard Rohr

TEXT

Embracing the Unknown

Exploring how doubt and questioning can deepen spiritual understanding through curiosity, humility, and non-dual thinking.

TEXT

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.

QUOTE
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

TEXT

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.

TEXT

How to Do Design Feedback

Practical strategies for effective design feedback in remote teams, balancing individual input with collaborative sessions to foster creative growth.

QUOTE
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

TEXT

Atomic Essays

Discovering the power of atomic essays - concise, shareable writing pieces that make consistent writing more accessible and impactful.

QUOTE
Blogging and social media don't make you better at your craft; doing your craft makes you better at it.

— Paul Jarvis

PHOTO
A historic hotel room with dark wood-paneled walls, an ornate plaster ceiling, and a blue suitcase resting on the bed.

This is my favorite room at The Kelly in Birmingham.

TEXT

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.