---
content_date: 2021-11-28
feed: "DANIEL_ON_SLOPE"
codex_section: "S09"
codex_candidate: false
source: Scotomaville
source_file: 02.07-strategy.pdf
chapter: 02.07-strategy
total_pdf_pages: 12
volume: v2
title: Strategy Trumps Planning
monomyth_stage: "06 - Tests, Allies, Enemies"
category:
- strategy
- expedition
tags:
- strategy-vs-planning
- incremental-changes
- small-things-matter
- emotional-hijacking
- onus-probandi
- eating-an-elephant
- do-whats-necessary
- to-do-lists
summary: I differentiate between planning and strategy, showing how strategy tackles the 'why' and comes to terms with the whole situation including interruptions and delays that once triggered intense emotional hijackings. By embracing incremental changes like eating an elephant one bite at a time, paying attention to small things, and doing what's necessary first, I build resilience and stay focused on the desired outcome even when plans get derailed. This approach has made me far less upended during the expedition and turns everyday challenges into opportunities for personal transformation.
qr_links:
- https://youtu.be/0kfzma1ruIA
---

# 02.07-strategy

## Spread 001  [p1–p2]
**type:** image_heavy  |  **img coverage:** L=31% R=29%
**heading:** Welcome to the Pacific North

### Visual description
The left page is dominated by a full-width documentary photograph of Daniel (white-haired man in a black t-shirt) standing beside an Airstream trailer on a grassy roadside, hands clasped over his ears and mouth open in a dramatic shout, with the large title word “strategy” overlaid across the image in bold black/gray/red lettering and a teal geometric accent. Below the photo, the page carries the provided Pacific Northwest weather text, followed by body copy about emotional triggers, interruptions, and the centered pull-quote: “I’m far less upended or triggered by interruptions and delays now than before starting this expedition.” A horizontal rule and the phrase “ONUS PROBANDI END OF SCENE” appear near the bottom.

The right page opens with the chapter header “2.07” in large teal and black numerals, the line “< THIS IS A TEST,” and a note about Saturdays near Oklahoma City. Below is a close-up photograph of two bright neon-yellow work gloves (both clearly left-hand) resting on a dark textured surface, accompanied by the “TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY KEY POINTS” list, a short dialogue transcript between Angelina and Daniel about the gloves and an emergency-warning-system test, and a dark footer box quoting William James on choosing thoughts. The gloves image functions as ironic commentary, visually illustrating the chapter’s theme of noticing small errors and not being derailed by them. The spread mixes real journey photography, bold typography, and a practical object shot to anchor the discussion of personal strategy.

### Left page
Welcome to the Pacific Northwest. We plan to build memo
ries playing with family while enjoying the cooler tempera
tures for a few months.
We came to the Central Gorge and Hood River/Mosier, our
home base, to spend some time foiling on the river, but
the weather isn’t cooperating with our plans. A cold
front blew in like crazy and dropped the temperature by
nearly 30 degrees.
The great thing about having a strategy is shifting your
plans and still pursuing your desired outcome. In this epi
sode, I will differentiate Planning from Strategy. When I viv
idly imagine the best outcome and have them postponed or
delayed, the emotions are intense, which trigger amygdala
hijackings and tizzy fits.
My cheese is constantly moved, but it turns out that
having an excellent strategy can interrupt the cascading
emotions. You’ve watched this since the early episodes
“I’m far less upended or triggered by interruptions
and delays now than before starting this expedition.”
at Lake Pleasant were interrupted with constant noise,
airplanes, and drag boats. I’m far less upended or triggered
by interruptions now than before starting this expedition.
ONUS PROBANDI
END OF SCENE
Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE
236
strategy

### Right page
TWO LEFT GLOVES:
“Our greatest weapon against stress is our ability to chose one thought over another” William James
TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY KEY POINTS
■  Incremental Changes substantially accelerate personal transformation
■  Small Things Matter - becoming aware and responding to subtleties counts
■  Onus Probandi - we’re demonstrating change with personal examples
Angelina: What are you doing?
Daniel: What am I doing? I’m putting the...
[Emergency Warning System] ATTENTION! this is only a test. This is a test of the warning system. This
is only a test. There’s no emergency...
Angelina: You were saying?
Daniel: (covering his ears) Oh, that is so loud. You can hear it echoing around the lake... “this is
only a test... Esto es solo una prueba.”
I was going to say that whenever you try to work on something, ‘life happens between
your plans’ (the warning system blares). This is what 
I was going to show you. Look closely. 
What do you see?
Angelina: Oh no.
Daniel: I have two left-hand gloves!
< THIS IS A TEST
SATURDAYS @ NOON NEAR OKLAHOMA CITY
2.07
Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE
237
y

## Spread 002  [p3–p4]
**type:** image_heavy  |  **img coverage:** L=45% R=0%
**heading:** You’ve repeatedly heard me

### Visual description
The left page of this spread is dominated by a large documentary photograph of the Airstream RV interior, showing Angelina lying on a beige couch with a brown pillow, her head resting on it and eyes closed in a relaxed smile. A partially eaten pizza with visible toppings sits on a wooden table in the foreground alongside glasses and a water bottle, while a laptop and storage items appear in the background near the windows with a bright outdoor desert view. A bold pull-quote in large serif type spans the top of the image: “STRATEGY TRUMPS PLANNING, IT TACKLES THE QUESTION ‘WHY’? IT COMES TO TERMS WITH THE WHOLE SITUATION”. 

The bottom left contains continuation of the chapter text about daily routines like meal preparation, while the right page is text-heavy with headings, bullet points contrasting “plan” versus “strategy,” a section titled “EATING AN ELEPHANT,” and a narrow column of transcribed dialogue between Angelina and Daniel involving a humorous scenario of her crawling under a table. The primary image is straightforward documentary photography from the journey, directly tying into the chapter theme through the visible meal and RV living context. No cartoons or diagrams appear on this spread.

### Left page
You’ve repeatedly heard me say that you should segment
grapefruit, cut your egg cartons, or improve your meals.
The reason for that is to practice and refine your Strategy.
As you go about doing your thing in the morning - a
routine that you have for a well-balanced diet for your
“Strategy trumps planning, It tackles the question ‘why’? It comes to terms
with the whole situation”
leaving SCOTOMAVILLE
238
microbiome - then here will come the intrusions - like the
noise of your RV neighbor firing up their huge diesel
before they leave. I’ve started embracing the intrusions
because I realized a strategy is bigger than planning.
STRATEGY TACKLES WHY
Strategy has a large scope and looks at the end results
and the many paths to the desired outcome. A strategy
looks at every possible influencing factor, both seen and
unforeseen, and comes to terms with the whole situation
- not just one result.

### Right page
LITTLE BY LITTLE INCREMENTALLY
Angelina: [crawling under table and stuck between the seating and the table]
Daniel: I think you need a better strategy. 
You’re trying to crawl underneath the table.
Angelina: I am.
Daniel: How’s that working out for you?
Angelina: My boobs are getting stuck. Okay. I 
had this idea that I would move my desk.
Daniel: If you break the table what good is that. Now you’re stuck halfway.
Angelina: I am. Now if I can turn myself around.
Daniel: I think that is the question. Is this why you play hoppers? So that you can test ideas in
the physical world?
Angelina: I wanted to have a better setup for my desk so I didn’t have to go around.
Daniel: Hang on hang on you’re gonna break something... Let me...
Angelina: Ta-dah. See.
Daniel: You gotta be kidding me. Resilience. 
Stubbornness.
Angelina: But it worked.
Daniel: Ladies can you practice this at home. 
Crawl under the table rather than walk around to your chair!
Angelina: I didn’t want you to move out of the way. I needed to figure it out on my own.
 
A plan says; here are the steps, while a strategy says; here are the best steps.
Strategy speaks to the reasons WHY while the plan is focused on HOW.
■ WHY outweighs HOW
■ Strategy is BIGGER than a plan
■ Strategy deals with the situation
Strategy is about understanding your environment and making choices about what you will
do. Think, if you like, of where and how to play. 
Planning is about making choices inside your 
Strategy - about how to use the resources you have and the actions you will take.

EATING AN ELEPHANT
Let me try to emphasize the difference between strategy and planning suggesting
something absurd - like eating an elephant.
“When eating an elephant take one bite at a time. 
Clearly no one is encouraging dining on these animals but it’s good advice about how to tackle a huge
overwhelming project - like the climb to success.”
“Desmond Tutu said the way to eat an elephant - a bite at a time. What he meant by this is that every
thing in life that seems daunting, overwhelming, and even impossible can be accomplished gradually
by taking on just a little at a time.”
Francis of Assisi on how to eat an elephant: ”start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possi
ble and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
leaving SCOTOMAVILLE
239

## Spread 003  [p5–p6]
**type:** text_only  |  **img coverage:** L=25% R=25%
**heading:** EATING YOUR AIRPLANE

### Left page
EATING YOUR AIRPLANE
To raise the bar of what’s possible beyond anything you’d imagine for your own life, let’s look
at this Guinness World Record holder who ate an entire airplane bite-by-bite. He ate two pounds
per day. His name was Michael Lotito, and he was nicknamed Monsieur Mangetout. Manget
finances or your financial score, or maybe get a new job, whatever that might be in
your life, think about incremental progress bite-by-bite.
If you want to change how you think, try affirmations day after day. Put some moti
vational quotes into your lifestyle. Consume something that will make a small change
each day to advance your position.
SWAP YOUR COFFEE TREATS
Another thought on Strategy is that you want to work toward longevity. It doesn’t make
much sense to sprint to the finish and die too soon. You might as well mature faster than
you age - and value your journey.
This is 2 billion pre/probiotics. It’s part of our 
Viome precision supplements. We dropped our designer coffee treats to save up. We
took the tests, waited for months, and started a better habit that extends our biological
age incrementally. I think the discipline of valuing longevity long before we got in an
Airstream is worth the $5 a day. (cold coffee)
out means ‘eat it all.’ Mr’ eat it all’ ate about 900 
grams of whatever it was a day. Over his lifetime, 
his diet (since 1969) included 18 bicycles, 15 
supermarket trolleys, 7 TV sets, six chandeliers, 
two beds, a pair of skis, a low-calorie Cessna light aircraft, and a computer. He also ate a coffin. By
1997, he had eaten nearly nine tons of metal, but he said funny enough that bananas and hard-
boiled eggs made him sick.
I’m not going to recommend that you eat an Airstream, but I will make my point that if you want
ed to, you could do it - incrementally.
Think about what’s challenging your Personal 
Everest. If you’re trying to live a healthier life, lose weight or gain weight, make progress on your
Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE
240
Guinness World Records

### Right page
INCREMENTAL INJURY
Angelina: What just happened?
Daniel: (triggered) I’m simply trying to do a close up shot of the Viome supplements, and when I
poured them out, they rolled away into the dirty sink. So I flinched to grab them, clipping the cut
ting board to bloody my thumb and nail.
Angelina: Oh, thank you for splashing the blood. 
Let’s coat the wound with ointment.

Daniel: Oh, you see the blood? So I go from trying to be helpful... let me show people how cool
Viome is... to bleeding. What an outcome!
The take-away? Give yourself an allowance for wounding in your Strategy! Be attentive to small
things you are dealing with, like knives and onions or avocado. (been there too)
PAY ATTENTION TO SMALL INJURIES:
Little wounds add up. Gut inflammation and weight gain don’t explode, they emerge from small choices.
TO-DO LISTS
Another strategy that you’ve seen me use is to assign myself to-do items on a list.
Rather than forgetting, or working on 
FUN things ahead of ESSENTIAL things,  I 
direct my work when I’m thinking clearly. 
That way, I don’t have to spend time wondering - I do what my boss told me to.
(crossing off items)
I just finished the previous video clip, and 
I’m done with this one. I get satisfaction for my focused time by crossing off the
tasks. I decided in advance and gave myself the discipline to work through the
list - knowing that items will continually be added - like gluing the knob back on
the stove-top. Doing so reduces distracted thinking - like ‘why the factory doesn’t
use glue?’
Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE
241
SELF ASSIGNED WORK DUTIES:
From an ACHIEVER. Your ‘boss’ must be clear eyed, forward thinking and willing to pivot.

## Spread 004  [p7–p8]
**type:** text_only  |  **img coverage:** L=16% R=16%
**heading:** Small Action

### Left page
Small Action
PREVENTS DIFFICULTY
A second strategy to embrace is that ‘little things matter.’ They do. You’ve heard of the
phrase, “a stitch in time saves nine”? What the heck does that mean? In the days of large sail
ing ships, if you didn’t fix the tiny stitching that was coming out of a mainsail, the next time
you had a decent blow, it would tear the whole sail open, and you’d have more damage.
Paying attention to little things can save a tremendous amount of grief, anguish, loss, and
disappointment over time. A great strategy to embrace is to pay attention to the little things
by considering that little things matter.
I thought this was humorous... 
The definition reads: “small action taken on right time may prevents difficulty
to be bigger later”. I think that’s funny.
WITH SMALL METAL SHAVINGS  
One of the things you can practice at home to become familiar with Airstreaming is to find
some small metal shavings and throw them on the floor. Then walk around with bare feet.
This is an aluminum shaving from one of the rivets. When they replace a faulty rivet in the
factory, it’s easy to go too fast and over-drill it. That small action creates a piece of metal
like this (closeup of aluminum shaving) that ends up on the floor, sometimes under a cabinet, and
when you step on it - it feels terrific.
■  LITTLE THINGS MATTER
Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE
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Small Attention

### Right page
Bigger Problem Solved
WITH TINY LOOSE PARTS
While you’re vacuuming, you’ll find tiny, tiny parts like this on the floor (closeup of tiny nut).
Then you’ll start looking around, thinking, 
where the heck did it come from? Don’t just throw it away with the vacuum dust. You have
to have a place to put all those little parts. 
(dropping the nut in a drawer tray)
I bet that’s going to be important.
I found a screw lying inside my solar briefcase about a week later. Since I have a strategy of
putting parts in the drawer - it went in.
While editing this episode a week after finding the nut, I see a video clip of the nut. My brain
uses a cognitive bias to connect one screw to one nut. Sure enough, there’s the solution to
the missing nut that secures the charge controller inside the solar briefcase. That is quite
literally ‘case closed’ on the bigger problem.
WITH SMALL WATER USE 
You can practice Airstreaming at home by not coating the inside of your drain pipes and gray
tank with oil or salad dressing. You could use paper plates, but that is resource expensive.
Instead, take your napkin and wipe all food residues off the plate. This then becomes all you
have to clean with minimal water.
(showing a cleanly wiped plate)
Once again, instead of paper plates, use nice china - wipe it all off with one napkin at the
end. The oil is cleaned off. The plate goes in the sink, and that is how you can practice Air
streaming without leaving your home.
Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE
243
May Prevents Difficulty

## Spread 005  [p9–p10]
**type:** image_heavy  |  **img coverage:** L=0% R=89%
**heading:** DO WHAT’S NECESSARY

### Visual description
The right page (245) features two stacked documentary photographs. The top image is a tight close-up of the Airstream shower drain area, showing a translucent plastic pipe partially inserted into a metal drain fitting above a gray woven floor mat, with visible gaps and no glue at the connection point. The larger bottom photo shows Daniel lying on his back on the wooden floor inside the trailer, his bald head and shoulders in the foreground, reaching upward into the cramped shower compartment while wearing a dark long-sleeve shirt. 

Overlaid on the lower right of the bottom photo is white text reading: “IT SEEMS THAT TAKING SMALL ACTIONS AT THE RIGHT TIME PREVENT DRASTIC ACTIONS LATER ON… LIKE PUTTING GLUE ON THE SHOWER DRAIN LINE BEFORE THE FIRST OWNERS TAKE SHOWERS.” The left page (244) is primarily text, with a centered pull-quote at the top about the Airstream being a “COVID baby” with defects, followed by the dialogue under the heading “DO WHAT’S NECESSARY” that directly references the plumbing repair shown in the photos. 

The images are straightforward documentary captures from the journey rather than ironic cartoons or diagrams, though their placement next to the strategy-themed text creates a wry commentary on how mundane fixes illustrate the chapter’s “start by doing what’s necessary” principle.

### Left page
DO WHAT’S NECESSARY
Angelina: What are you doing?
Daniel: Arnie has a tummy ache. He’s a COVID baby. He’s
got irritable bowel syndrome. 
They forgot to glue the shower plumbing. The drain line
is not glued. See this? That’s supposed to be connected.
It’s not. I have to reach back in there and glue it.
Two hours later... not a single drop of water!
Yeah, little things matter...
“Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s
possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
I hope you’re catching my 
Strategy to leverage the widespread interest in Airstreams
as a bridge to convey what 
I believe are fundamental principles. You can mimic, test
and practice them right now. 
DO WHAT’S POSSIBLE
To demonstrate this: I’m in the Ford Studios now because
Angelina is working in her office... and because I’m going
to pivot, splitting the topic of 
Strategy into two episodes. 
The next episode is about having an abundance mind
set, not being locked into scarcity, and learning to speak the
truth. In other words, seeing things the way they really are
by not limiting our point of view to the way we are.
How fun!
Thanks for joining me in getting out of Scotomaville. I’ll
see you next Episode. 
DO THE IMPOSSIBLE
We forfeited the Airstream in 
Scottsdale but found one in 
Albuquerque, New Mexico. 
So we drive all the way there, 
which doesn’t work out. Then we eventually found one in
Oklahoma City. We stayed there for a month in a hotel
waiting for things to come together. Meanwhile, Daniel
had his kidney stone. So a lot of impossible stuff happened
that month in Oklahoma City.
[music] okay, that really doesn’t look right [music]
Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE
244
“Our Airstream is a COVID baby, born in 
November of 2020. He has defects. 
Good news... I couldn’t have asked for better SCOTOMAVILLE content.”

### Right page
It seems that taking small actions at the
right time prevent drastic actions later
on... like putting glue on the shower drain
line before the first owners take showers.
Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE
245

## Spread 006  [p11–p12]
**type:** text_only  |  **img coverage:** L=14% R=22%
**heading:** 0kfzma1ruIA
**urls:** `https://youtu.be/`

### Left page
YOURT
https://youtu.be/0kfzma1ruIA
The odd thing about dancing with the invisible world is that we see it with our eyes, but have a tough time believing with our minds. Having solid strategies
can make those puzzles valuable, as they don’t hang in the closet to smell musty. Open the windows...
List some strategies you frequent. Attach an experience or two for each. 
Add the insights to an episode of your expedition story.
WATCH

### Right page
RTURN
There are insights we have that would help others not learn things the hard way. Post a lesson or two, ask a question, and get feedback.
Here’s a land mine. Don’t step on it! You know the drill!
DISCUSS
Let’s apply your superior reasoning to the challenge of self-mastery with a thesis, summary,
and conclusion referencing this session.  
In this thread, we explored the distinction between strategy and rigid
planning, using examples from both warfare and business to illuminate the superiority
of a flexible strategic approach. The discussion began with historical war examples, including
Hannibal’s triumph at Cannae and Napoleon’s victory at Austerlitz, both of which showcased
adaptability, understanding of opponents, and strategic deception. We then transitioned to a
business example, contrasting Netflix’s successful transition to streaming with Blockbuster’s failure to
adapt, highlighting the importance of innovation, 
foresight, and a customer-centric approach.
Self-mastery, akin to the strategic triumphs in both historical battles and modern business as explored
in our discussion, requires adaptability, foresight, 
and a willingness to innovate beyond rigid patterns of thought. Embracing a strategic approach,
rather than adhering to a fixed plan, allows for personal growth and evolution, mirroring the
victories of Hannibal and Napoleon on the battlefield and Netflix in the business world. By learning
to ‘see with new eyes,’ individuals can transcend self-imposed limitations, navigating the complex
journey to self-understanding with the same superior reasoning that led to success in these varied
domains. 
In conclusion, the narrative from the transcript of this episode provides compelling evidence to
favor a robust and flexible strategy over a rigid plan. It lays stress on the larger scope of strategy
that accounts for the entire situation, emphasizes incremental changes, attention to details, and a
willingness to adapt and learn from both successes and failures. It echoes the sentiment expressed
by Francis of Assisi: “Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and suddenly you
are doing the impossible.”