--- content_date: 2020-10-26 feed: "DANIEL_ON_SLOPE" codex_section: "S08" codex_candidate: true source: Scotomaville source_file: 02.01-persistance.pdf chapter: 02.01-persistance total_pdf_pages: 10 volume: v2 title: Persistence monomyth_stage: "05 - Crossing the Threshold" category: - expedition - strategy - awareness tags: - persistence - commitment - butterflies - scotoma - perseverance - providence - airstream - glen-douglas - medicine-wheel - new-habits summary: I share how a persistent butterfly reminded Angelina and me not to quit as we headed to Albuquerque for our Airstream, recalling my 2005 Trans-Am encounter with Glen Douglas where butterflies and horses urged me onward. Despite financing setbacks and COVID hurdles that tested our full commitment, I emphasize that once we truly commit, providence moves and new habits form. I close by inviting you to begin your own journey with purpose through your first video episode. qr_links: - https://youtu.be/Qph3VJc-H64 - https://youtu.be/I2FhUIQFDkc --- # 02.01-persistance ## Spread 001 [p1–p2] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=79% R=47% **heading:** Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE ### Visual description The two-page spread opens with a large, full-width documentary photograph of an empty ski lift at Purgatory Ski Resort in Colorado. The image shows multiple gray metal chairlifts suspended on cables against a backdrop of green forested mountains, a dirt path, and a bright blue sky with scattered clouds. Large white text reading “2.01 PERSISTENCE” is overlaid on the upper left of the photo, while a gray quote box on the right side of the image area contains the definition: “PERSISTENCE: a personality trait demonstrated by firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.” The right-hand page shifts to text-heavy layout with body copy about returning to Scotomaville, purchasing an Airstream, and reflections on the journey, including red-highlighted passages. A small, realistic yellow butterfly illustration appears in the lower right corner, positioned near the subheading “BUTTERFLIES FOR LUNCH.” The photograph feels entirely documentary in style, captured from the actual road trip, while the butterfly functions as a light, literal visual echo of the text rather than an ironic cartoon. The empty lift chairs subtly align with the chapter theme of persistence, suggesting forward motion and continuation despite solitude or obstacles. ### Left page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 170 2.01 PERSISTENCE ### Right page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 171 Purgatory Ski Resort, Colorado Welcome back to SCOTOMAVILLE. What a fabulous Episode this will be on sticking with and not quitting a ‘journey with a purpose.’ I’m so excited. Angelina and I will finally get a dream we’ve been work ing on a long time. And yet, there isnothing like an expedition to expose flaws in our character. Here we go. We’ve ordered stuff from Amazon. We’re packing it in the truck. After four prior attempts (this will be number five), it is finally time to purchase our Airstream. It’s in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s the only one like it in the United States. Airstream built this Globetrotter the week of the COVID-19 shutdown. It’s exactly what we want for the price we can afford. Our four bankers assure us that our scores are good. Our financing is set, and so we are off to Albuquerque. I’m wondering why it is going so smoothly? I’ve been on a few expe ditions. They’re never this smooth. BUTTERFLIES FOR LUNCH We’re in Baker City, Oregon, headed to Albuquerque, NM. We’re on our first lunch break, and we have a butterfly. I mean, Ange lina is taking a video of a butterfly flying overhead. EXPEDITION “Persistence: a personality trait demonstrated by firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition” ## Spread 002 [p3–p4] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=0% R=63% **heading:** Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE ### Visual description The right page of the spread is dominated by a large, full-color documentary photograph of Glen Douglas, an older Native American man wearing a full feathered war bonnet with red and white beads, fur collar, fringed leather shirt, and multiple military medals and ribbons on his chest; he faces the camera with a solemn expression while holding an object in his hands. In the upper right corner sits a small rectangular inset of the *Windtalkers* movie poster showing Nicolas Cage in military fatigues. Directly below it is a close-up photograph of a pale yellow butterfly perched on purple flowers. A circular medicine wheel diagram divided into four colored quadrants (black, white, red, and yellow) appears in the lower right. The bottom of the page carries a caption block identifying “Glen Douglas” with his tribal affiliation and military biography. The left page contains only running narrative text with no additional imagery beyond page headers and a parenthetical reference to the medicine wheel on the right. The overall visual style is documentary photography with targeted insets that directly illustrate elements from the adjacent story rather than functioning as ironic cartoons. ### Left page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 172 leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 172 I have a story to share. During my 2005 Trans- Am, I met Glen Douglas in Fargo, North Dakota. He knew all about the butterflies. Yeah, the butterflies that seemed to have fun with me. In 2005, I flew to Seattle to spend time with my son. I started pedaling east from Bellingham, Washington, over the Cascade Mountains. Somewhere in the middle of Idaho, butterflies began flying with me. No, not just across my path. They would come out from the fields and fly alongside me in one of four quadrants. They flew just out of reach in those four sectors. I thought this weird. (see medicine wheel quadrants at right) I cycled across Montana. At least a couple of times, Sheriff and Police and other law en forcement had said to me, “you be a little careful where you’re staying. The tribes have some tensions on your route. We’ve got a couple of missing cyclists, and we don’t want you to fall into any trouble. So you watch yourself. Take care that you’re under a light when you camp.” I Listened to Stay Safe One morning, a weather front had just gone through, and it was cold. I was wet as I cycled into Fargo, North Dakota. Angelina had mailed a complimentary breakfast coupon to me, so I went to McDonald’s for a hot breakfast. I looked around, surprised that it was full of senior citizens. I mean, there was NO WHERE to sit except at a table with an Indian - and you remember I was supposed to keep my distance - but I thought; ‘there are plenty of witnesses - it’s broad daylight, come on Daniel.’ I got my meal at the counter, and I heard the Indian fellow bark, “hey... I need to talk to you!” I noticed people began looking at me. I turned around to see the Indian gentleman sitting at the table pointing at me. “I need to talk to you,” he said. I thought, ‘this is interesting.’ I sat down at the table and started eating. I focused on what Glen was wearing. He looked like a Walmart greeter. His hat had metallic pins around the brim. His shirt had all kinds of pins and medallions, and ribbons. I caught my scotoma as I recognized his battle medallions. I fumbled a question... “Who are you?” He said, “I’m Glen Douglas .” So I dug into his story a little bit. You might know the movie with Nicholas Cage called Windtalkers. Glen was one of the original Windtalkers from the Korean War. As we sat, I learned he was the oldest living, most decorated, Native American Army Intelligence Officer. Glen had a Silver Star and many fascinating life experiences. I remember struggling to take it all in and find meaning in our meeting. (note: I wanted to quickly find a pattern in order to assign meaning. All three are core cognitive biases) Then, quite abruptly, in the middle of the conversation, I asked, “why do you have to talk to me?” He laid the paper he was looking at down on the table. Pointing to a picture of me, he asked, “is that you?” “Yeah,” I said. “And that’s you?” (on the opposite side of the paper) ### Right page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 173 Glen Douglas a Lakes-Okanagan Indian, Silver Star Recipient, Special Forces Intelligence Analyst in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Douglas served as chairman of the VA Native American Advisory Council and was a respected source of expertise on PTSD issues for Native American combat veterans. ## Spread 003 [p5–p6] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=16% R=43% **heading:** Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE ### Visual description The left page of the spread opens with a large red pull-quote at the top, followed by black text recounting a conversation with Glen Douglas. Three vertically stacked screenshots from a KARE 5 News broadcast occupy the left margin, showing a cyclist (Daniel) riding on rural roads, a close-up of his bike with an American flag, and broadcast overlays. The right page is dominated by a large color photograph of Daniel, an older man in a gray shirt and cap, smiling directly at the camera while pointing with his right hand; a small yellow butterfly rests on his finger against a softly blurred green park background. A semi-transparent text box overlays the upper right of this photo, describing a lunch stop in Baker City, Oregon, and referencing Angelina filming the butterfly. Below the photo, the page splits into two text columns headed “TALKING WITH GLEN” and “BUTTERFLIES SAVED ME,” with the bottom of both pages carrying the running header “LEAVING SCOTOMAVILLE.” The visuals are entirely documentary—real news footage stills and a contemporary photograph—yet the butterfly image functions metaphorically, visually reinforcing the chapter’s theme of persistence. ### Left page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 174 So we are sitting together, and he’s reading a newspaper with both of us in it. Glen wanted to know what I was doing. So I shared a little bit on cycling across America, Angelina’s head injury from a car wreck, and I was trying to get a message out about not going alone, about perseverance and overcoming challenges, loss, and hardships... KARE 5 NEWS CLIP News Anchor: “On the same day, Lance Armstrong rode into Paris for the final time a cyclist from Seattle rode into the twin cities for the first time. Daniel Comp is traveling cross country on his bike to raise awareness for women in business. The long-time cyclist got the idea after his wife was injured in a bad car crash. She was an entrepreneur, and he’s riding in honor of her.” Daniel: “Through peer support and mentoring, they all sort of network together, share their business ideas, and help each other in business. Incredible things are coming out of it. We’re trying to bring it out of Texas and up across the Northern U.S..” News Anchor: “Comp started his journey in Seattle just after Father’s Day. He figures if he travels 80 to 100 miles a day, he’ll reach the east coast by the end of August.” KARE 5 News, Minneapolis MN: Onus Probandi “Butterflies? They know... Your mission. You’re changing and you’re helping people. The butterflies are there so you don’t quit... and the horses too!” Glen Douglas ### Right page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 175 We stopped for lunch in Baker City, Oregon. angelina is filming a persistent butterfly. 15 years ago, glen said the butterflies were there so we wouldn’t quit. Quit? We’re going to pick up our Airstream... right? TALKING WITH GLEN I said, “Oh!... Glen, you’re an Indian!” I remember that loud and awkward blurt. I get goosebumps because it was an obvious, but inappropriate statement to make out loud. “You’re an Indian!” I said excitedly. What’s with the butterflies? I asked. In a hushed and calmly wise tone Glen said, “Oh... the but terflies. They know.” Puzzled, I asked; “They know? They know what?” “Your mission,” Glen said. I was dumbfounded. “My mission?” I asked. Glen said, “you’re changing, and you’re helping people. The butterflies are there, so you don’t quit - and the horses too.” I have goosebumps recalling this because I had not told anyone, even Angelina, about the horses. Up to that point of my ride across America, I had had three small pelotons run with me. I thought it weird. Apparently, it’s not uncommon. Horses ran in the Tour de France once, but I found it pretty unusual to be in the middle of the Dakotas with have wild horses pacing me. BUTTERFLIES SAVED ME It turns out that butterflies saved my life on that expedi tion. Glen said according to Native American folklore the butterflies were there to en courage and protect me. The earlier protection, as I crossed Montana, was obvious to me. I had later met with Clint Hackney with one of the tribal (SPIPA) groups in the Pacific Northwest. He shared the meaning of the Native Med icine Wheel. The four quadrants of the wheel have spir itual significance. Butterflies represent ‘new birth.’ ## Spread 004 [p7–p8] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=36% R=7% **heading:** Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE ### Visual description The left page features a large, high-angle documentary photograph of a red pickup truck parked in a paved lot beside greenery, with Daniel standing at the rear beside a bicycle and surfboard loaded in the bed. Below it, text blocks include the heading “ASSIGNING MEANING TO CHAOS” and a gray pull-quote box reading “What am I missing? Where’s my scotoma?” The right page contains a smaller, close-up documentary photo at bottom right showing Daniel inside the Airstream trailer looking toward the camera, with Angelina visible in the background near the kitchen area. Multiple text columns fill the remainder of the right page with headings such as “THERE’S MORE TO LEARN,” “FORMING NEW HABITS,” and “DON’T QUIT ANYWAY,” plus an attributed W. H. Murray quote at lower left. Both photographs are realistic, on-location images from the couple’s actual travels rather than illustrations or diagrams, visually reinforcing the chapter’s theme of ongoing commitment during the road expedition. No ironic cartoons or metaphorical overlays appear on this spread. ### Left page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 176 I sat on that story for decades. We’re now headed to Albuquerque with a butterfly reminding us NOT to QUIT. THEN PROVIDENCE MOVES Angelina and I have been trying to make a difference for others for a couple of decades now. It’s been a long, long journey. So what does commitment mean for a couple? Once we fully commit, and can’t turn back, then things occur that we would never have expected. People, re sources, and events turn up in the most wonderful ways. I finished the first Trans-America believing that the butterfly story would be valuable at the right time. I had no idea when, but post-pandemic, it’s a different world now. We can’t do things the way we used to. We’re not just aware of COVID; we have had to change habits by paying attention to small things a lot more than before. “but when I said that nothing had been done I erred in one important matter. We had definitely committed ourselves and were halfway out of our ruts. We had put down our passage money— booked a sailing to Bombay. This may sound too simple, but is great in consequence. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. W. H. Murray The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951) BREAKING OLD HABITS We continued our trip from Salt Lake City to Grand Junction. On day two, I got on the elevator, and at the last second, as the doors were ASSIGNING MEANING TO CHAOS I thought we fully committed. I believed what ‘experts’ told us. But maybe there’s another crest to climb that they aren’t factoring in. What in the world does this mean? How much longer is this going to take? I ended up with less certainty than when I started. What am I missing? Where’s my scotoma? ### Right page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 177 closing, a man without a mask stuck his hand between the closing doors and jumped on the elevator with me. Boy, did I give him a little stare! You don’t shove your hand in the door to get on the elevator when people are already on it. I had to insist that the family of seven could not ride the elevator with me. FORMING NEW HABITS W. H. Murray wrote, “once you fully commit then providence moves.” We are all constantly resisted, opposed, and frustrated. Enduring hardship by fasting is not commitment! We have to be fully COMMIT TED, not simply CORNERED. tadded in Second Edition followin THERE’S MORE TO LEARN We’re learning more about financing a ‘recreational vehicle’ than the loan people. Credit reports are not real-time. They may be precise, but they’re hardly accurate. It seems we have to ‘wrestle’ for what we want. We can’t just wait for it to happen. We have to initiate and fully commit before Providence moves. LEARNING TOGETHER When you’re on a climbing expedition, you rope into each other. You get to experience some of the stumbles of every one else. When you’re in a marriage or partnership, you get to learn together. It’s s been five days now. I thought we were fully committed. We were supposedly pre-approved, but we won’t be leaving Albuquerque with our Airstream. Instead, an underwriter working from home has decided COVID demands higher financial standards. This judgment, once again, fits the false conclusion loaded on my hillbilly truck that; ‘I’m not included. I’m not one of them.’ Remember Second-hand Lions; “everybody needs some thing to believe in - even if it’s not true?” People fib by telling ‘stories’ when their beliefs are questioned. They fill in the ‘questionable gaps’ as if believing someone else’s narra tive lets them off the hook. (blatant in media and news today) WE BELIEVED ENTHUSIASM We shouldn’t have acted on what well-meaning bankers said as fact. Don’t do what we did - mistake enthusiasm for truth - to drive across the country, pre-qualified to buy our Airstream. Unfortunately, people share ‘stories’ as facts. That’s a hard lesson. It seems you can’t get up Mount Everest on a bad weather day - no matter how much you plan, prepare and practice. We have lessons yet to be learned in this life with curves. DON’T QUIT ANYWAY Persistence - a firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. Don’t quit. W.H. Murray and butterflies say so. ## Spread 005 [p9–p10] **type:** text_only | **img coverage:** L=14% R=23% **heading:** Qph3VJc-H64 **urls:** `https://youtu.be/` `https://youtu.be/I2FhUIQFDkc` ### Left page YOURT https://youtu.be/Qph3VJc-H64 I think it’s time to advance from I Do, You Watch, toward We Do, We Watch. This worksheet will test if you are fully committed or simply cornered. If the thought of starting your own channel, series and book frightens then we are on target. You remember that you can’t steer a bicycle until it’s rolling, right? Same with transformation. It takes faith, hope and fact to triangulate commitment. Watch the very first video I shot four years ago. https://youtu.be/I2FhUIQFDkc Follow in the way I began. List ideas and insights you’ve made thus far by applying Scotomavile to challenges and puzzles. Shoot video clips for setbacks that surface. Trust me; the ‘Murphes’ will come. Assemble the clips into the first episode of your ‘journey with a purpose’. WATCH ### Right page RTURN It’s time to share your first episode rough-cut or chapter draft with other Scotomaville Explorers, Mountaineers, Guides and Leaders. Discuss this Episode, and post your work. DISCUSS Please help me find a fable or parable about having perseverance. Certainly, Daniel! The domain pertinent to this question involves storytelling and parables, and the suitable references here would include Aesop and the Grimms Brothers. A classic fable that epitomizes the value of perseverance is “The Tortoise and the Hare” by Aesop. This timeless tale serves as an allegory for steady persistence and determination. The story goes as follows: The hare, confident in his innate speed, boasts about how fast he is and challenges the tortoise, who is known for his slow pace, to a race. The tortoise accepts the challenge, and they agree upon the terms of the race. Once the race begins, the hare dashes ahead, so sure of his victory that he decides to take a nap halfway through. The tortoise, although slow, continues to plod along at a consistent pace. He doesn’t falter or lose hope, even when the finish line seems impossibly far away. Eventually, the hare awakens, only to find that the tortoise is nearing the finish line. In a panic, the hare tries to catch up, but it’s too late. The tortoise, with his slow and steady perseverance, wins the race. The moral of the story, which aligns with your philosophy of self-mastery and personal growth, is that perseverance and consistency can lead to success, even when facing seemingly insur mountable odds. This fable teaches us not to be overconfident in our abilities and instead to focus on our journey with unwavering determination. As Jim Rohn, one of the personal development experts from your minyan, once said, “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.” The tortoise’s victory in this fable beautifully illustrates this wisdom.