Lawrence of Arabia: Stoicism, Storytelling, and Sand

Written By Paul McDonald

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Join Men at the Movies podcast and adventurer Miles Spencer as we unpack stoicism, storytelling, and the 1,100-mile desert trek behind the classic film Lawrence of Arabia. Discover mind-over-matter resilience, purpose-driven risk, and faith insights that turn epic cinema into real-life courage. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

About Miles

I’m a curious guy from Pittsburgh that asked a lot of questions and strayed a long way from home. I’ve been a mentor of tech founders for 30 years, and a father of kids for 11. The similarities are remarkable.

My day job has been to help create over 1,100 jobs while founding, financing, building and exiting three digital media companies. Prior to that, I was a Venture Principal at Capital Express (register.com), hosted MoneyHunt on PBS (pre- SharkTank), led over 1,500 people across 14 miles of open sea on kayak, and trekked 1,100 miles through the deserts of Saudi, Jordan and Syria… and A Line in the Sand ended up an Amazon Bestseller in the Middle East.

After a bit of a pandemic reset, I’m  now actively investing and directly managing teams in digital media, entertainment, and consumer products. And painting watercolors with my daughter or playing rugby with my son.

Oh, and sometimes friends have to interpret for my special type of English. That’s it, up to now.

For more information on Miles, visit milesspencer.com.

The Quotes

  • The question is not, “Does it hurt?” The question is, “Does it matter?”

  • Our souls can’t be damaged by flame or abuse or anything unless you let it.

  • Our experiences might burn, but we have the choice of whether or not it will burn us.

  • Resilience requires faith.

 Themes

  • Resilience

    • Knowing that something hurts, but doing it anyway

    • Choosing to hold on to what is permanent, and letting go of the temporary

    • A skill that can be developed. You have to work your way up.

  • Adventure with a purpose

    • Being in a place alone, exposed, vulnerable develops your character

Resources

Questions

  • When have you been surprised by someone’s response to your request in a positive way?

  • Think of someone that you consider to be different from you. What are the ways in which you are similar?

  • When have you had to do something that you knew was going to hurt?

  • How can you develop resilience daily? What is something you can do that is uncomfortable that you can choose to do to develop comfort in the discomfort?

  • How can your adventures have a purpose?

  • How do you prioritize safety and comfort? How does this hurt your development?

More info

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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster

Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston

Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).

Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.

Links:

Paul McDonald
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Who is Your Master?