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In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia examine the Preserving Three through Layer Cake, the 2004 crime thriller starring Daniel Craig as X, a cocaine distributor planning his exit. X runs a cocaine operation in London like it's a business – clean, efficient, and built for early retirement. Unlike the Transmitting Three chasing recognition, X stays methodical. He builds rules, manages relationships carefully, avoids violence and flashy moves and prioritizes staying solvent. His cool distance masks something deeper, not deception but a disconnect from real self-expression, hidden behind professionalism. But when that job ends, they have nothing left. The three hosts discuss how a Preserving Three needs the system more than the system needs him. Chapters0:00:00 The Layers of Life 0:01:04 A Serious, Measured Take 0:06:27 Into the Double Cross 0:17:43 Three Rules and Process 0:34:18 The Preserving Pattern 0:47:49 Navigators and Comparisons Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia talk about the 1993 film, Six Degrees of Separation, starring Will Smith and Stockard Channing. Paul, played by Smith, cons his way into Manhattan's upper crust by absorbing elite codes of conduct. But Ouisa, played by Channing, and Flan Kittredge, played by Donald Sutherland, were born into money and are doing the same thing, just more smoothly. The three hosts examine how Navigating Threes constantly refine their map of how to fit in, why their sense of self depends on external validation and what it means to strive for belonging without losing standing. They also unpack the film's treatment of authenticity, class consciousness and duality. “Authenticity is a big theme in this – speaking of Type Three, and exactly what you’re talking about – of like who are we really and who’s the version of us that we present to the world.” - TJ Dawe [25:53] “Let’s keep in mind that the Navigating instinctual bias, again, I don’t call it social, because it’s not about being part of the group. It’s not about wanting to be with people, all this sort of stuff. It’s about understanding group dynamics and where I fit in.” - Mario [29:34] “Is the Three the ultimate navigator? Because even a Preserving or a Transmitting, in some ways, is still ‘Navigating.’” - TJ Ingrassia [46:26] TIMESTAMPS [00:03] Intro [00:38] Thoughts on this week’s movie [03:58] About Six Degrees of Separation [06:04] The movie as Navigating Three [12:52] Striving to Feel Outstanding in the film [20:28] Threes find ways to accomplish things [25:53] Who are we really? [29:34] Understanding group dynamics [34:33] Creating a sense of self [38:40] A series of stories [43:58] The Navigating Three [46:26] Is the Three the ultimate Navigator? [50:30] Awareness to social obligations [55:08] The children's anger [59:10] Other characters’ Enneagram types [1:02:07] Paul as other subtypes [1:04:43] Other Navigating Threes Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia talk the Navigating Two through the film, Everything Everywhere All at Once. Waymond – played by Ke Huy Quan appears twice in this movie – once quiet and devoted and the other confident and leading – but both versions feel the need to feel connected, to be needed and to matter. Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia talk about the Preserving Two through the film, WALL-E. The film is nearly wordless, yet serves as a study in striving to feel connected. Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia examine Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey through the Transmitting Eight subtype. They discuss how the three-hour epic captures this subtype’s gift for action and what it blinds him to, focusing on Odysseus as a strategist whose mastery of manipulation hides a wound. They also reference Michael Goldberg's Travels with Odysseus, which maps Homer's nine stops to Enneagram's nine points, and ask what happens when you force a fit. Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia discuss the Navigating Four through Richard Linklater’s film, Boyhood, which was filmed over 12 years with the same cast. It captures the Navigating Four’s ability to fit into different worlds without losing who you are. Mason works through observation instead of dramatic self-expression. The navigation is constant – new towns, stepfathers, friend groups, conservative grandparents, – yet his core stays intact. The hosts also trace how Linklater's entire filmography (Slackers, the Before trilogy) keeps returning to this Navigating Four blend of introspection, observation, and adaptive fluency. Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia discuss the Transmitting Four through Julie Taymor's Frida, starring Salma Hayek. Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia talk about Green Book through Dr. Donald Shirley, the concert pianist played by Mahershala Ali. Dr. Shirley is a Preserving Four that uses refinement as a barrier, not a bridge. They discuss how a Preserving Four can build such an elegant prison that even when someone offers them a way out, they hesitate to leave. Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Dawe and TJ Ingrassia talk about The Diplomat's Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) as a Navigating One, focusing on the first season. They explore how Kate's relentless drive to identify problems and fix them operates within a highly navigating world of protocols, unspoken rules and relational chess moves. Kate appears controlled and confident, but underneath sits self-doubt rooted in her sky-high standards. The hosts also examine her complex marriage to Hal (played by Rufus Sewell) and why the entire diplomatic world is essentially a Navigating One ecosystem. “We tend to think that Ones are always squared away, and always polished and very presnicky about this or about that, but she’s not. And it’s because not all Ones are, particularly the Navigating Ones. They’re striving to feel perfect about very specific things, and it may not be the things you think they should think they’re perfect about.” - Mario [16:42] “I felt like the show was a great example of why Navigating is such the best word to describe this instinctual bias and not social.” - TJ Ingrassia [24:49] “So she can play the game as needed. It’s not her natural thing, but she can do it, and she does it well.” - TJ Dawe [29:44] TIMESTAMPS [00:02] Intro [03:41] About this week’s series [05:35] Hosts’ reactions [09:32] Kate as a Type One [18:06] Kate’s got a temper [22:37] The world of diplomacy is Navigating One [28:54] The Zone of Inner Conflict [32:53] Indirect communication and optics [37:42] Connections and alliances [42:20] Kate as a Navigating One [47:16] Wearing black is strategic [54:06] Hal’s Enneagram type [59:51] Hal has an agenda [01:08:49] Navigating One vs the other subtypes [1:12:09] Other characters’ Enneagram type [1:17:33] Other Navigating Ones Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

Thinking Well & Why, a new podcast on the Awareness to Action network hosted by Mario Sikora, Lee Fields and Seth “Creek” Creekmore, will tackle critical thinking, reasoning, and intellectual honesty – not as abstract disciplines, but as practical tools for making sense of life. Your biggest obstacle to being right is trying not to be wrong. The same cognitive biases that shape every area of life show up in your Enneagram work. The hosts promise no guarantees, but will offer sharp, direct conversation about the thinking skills worth defending. Connect with us: Awareness to Action Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Pod: Enneagram in a Movie Pod: The Awareness to Action Enneagram Lee Fields: Web: enneagrammatic.com IG: @enneagrammatic Seth "Creek" Creekmore: IG: @_creekmore Pod: Fathoms | An Enneagram Podcast Pod: Delusional Optimism Pod: The Awareness to Action Enneagram Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

Mario, TJ Dawe, and TJ Ingrassia (a transmitting One himself) dive into the 2010 Coen brothers remake of True Grit, exploring 14-year-old Matty Ross as a textbook example of the One subtype's core wound and superpower. The episode traces how Matty's need to correct, improve, and take responsibility—whether her mother is "a dummy" or her brother "a child"—drives her relentless pursuit of Tom Chaney across the frontier. They examine the transmitting One's intensity, perfectionism, and inner certainty, contrast her with a Type Nine (Rooster Cogburn's grizzled pragmatism), and unpack what it means when a child shoulders burdens no child should carry. Hailee Steinfeld's performance reveals the One's beautiful and dangerous edges: moral clarity that can calcify into judgment, and duty that can become obsession. CHAPTER MARKERS ------------------------------------------------------------ 0:00:00 Why True Grit, Why Now 0:11:53 The One's Core Drive 0:23:46 Responsibility She Invented 0:35:39 Hermione in the Old West 0:47:32 Rooster's Quiet Respect 0:59:26 Eight Rules for the Girl with Grit Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Ingrassia and TJ Dawe explore the 1985 film, Witness, starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis, through the lens of the Preserving One subtype. They examine how John Book, played by Ford, embodies the deep tension between duty and desire. The three hosts dissect the film's themes of repression, moral rigidity and the carefully controlled outlets ones use to manage internal conflict. They also deep dive into how restraint becomes both a strength and a prison. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a One who didn’t love a good laugh. They don’t build a temple to that in their lives. They don’t necessarily lead with that. But if the moment is right, they will open up and let that laughter right in and out, and it’s a beautiful thing.” - TJ Dawe [24:31] “You can tell – that might have been the moment that I connected to most in the film is that – he’s not angry at him. He’s actually yelling at him out of love and concern and protection.” - TJ Ingrassia [39:39] “When I talk about the One, the core quality of the One is objectivity. Objectivity is being able to make clear sighted and unemotional and unfiltered, unbiased decisions about things, to see things.” - Mario [42:01] TIMESTAMPS [00:03] Intro [00:22] Hosts’ thoughts on the movie [02:06] About this week’s movie [03:25] Mario’s inner One and Philadelphia [07:33] More things about the movie [10:21] A movie about repression and rules [17:44] A few nitpicks [22:15] A nice connection to Point Seven [25:09] Dark humor as a controlled release [29:17] Competing love interests [34:45] John Book as Type One [41:23] Core quality of objectivity [44:23] Everything in this movie is about Preserving [51:18] Simple aesthetic and preserving values [55:46] Thoughts on the ending [1:02:11] This movie as other subtypes [1:04:47] Other characters’ Enneagram Types [1:08:42] Other Preserving Ones [1:15:40] Final thoughts Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Ingrassia and TJ Dawe explore Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette as a portrait of the Preserving Seven subtype. Rather than a straightforward period piece, Coppola combines gilded excess with modern punk aesthetics to mirror Marie's internal world of distraction and avoidance. Compared to other Seven films, Marie Antoinette reveals how a Preserving Seven can become trapped within accumulated stimulation and numb herself through pleasure, fashion, and social engagement. “And you see these moments in her when she does kind of feel the terror and feel the fear, but she bounces back really well. And this is a gift that Sevens have. They can get knocked down, and they can bounce back up and look for the bright side of things. And I think we see this throughout with Marie Antoinette.” - Mario [15:31] “In the first 10-ish or so minutes of this film, she says virtually nothing. We’re just watching her as she’s experiencing these things that are happening to her. If you watch the first 10 minutes of Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn says more words in the first ten minutes than Marie Antoinette says in the entire film. And I think there’s something in there in terms of the Transmitting versus the Preserving difference.” - TJ Ingrassia [23:24] “The note that I wrote down is she’s trapped in a golden prison. There is this sense that she’s enjoying these things, but it’s like she’s oppressed almost by this castle that she’s stuck in.” - TJ Dawe [34:17] TIMESTAMPS [00:03] Intro [02:28] About this week’s movie [04:13] Sofia Coppola's filmmaking style [06:36] More thoughts on the film [11:22] What's Seven-ish about Marie Antoinette [17:55] The most Seven-ish scene [20:24] Preserving: traditions and loyalty [30:09] The Preserving Seven [35:40] The happiest time at her life [41:29] A different kind of Seven [46:14] Copy and paste in another person [49:54] Zone of Inner Conflict [52:23] Marie Antoinette as a Transmitter or Navigator [55:29] Typing the other characters [1:01:12] Other Preserving Sevens [1:05:49] Final thoughts Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Ingrassia and TJ Dawe discuss the Transmitting Seven through the 2020 film Birds of Prey. They analyze Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie, and how Harley's breakup from the Joker functions as complete emancipation, unleashing a character that embodies the Seven's relationship with freedom, pleasure and constraint. Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network

In this episode of The Enneagram in a Movie podcast, Mario Sikora, TJ Ingrassia and TJ Dawe take a break from their subtypes series to talk about the TV show, Parks and Recreation. They focus on a few notable characters, from Ron Swanson to Leslie Knope, to explore their Enneagram types based on five episodes from Seasons 3, 4 and 5. While the characters go through an evolution throughout the seven seasons, the hosts feel these episodes do a good job of illustrating the personality types. “Leopard skin is a classic tell for Transmitters. Now TJ Dawe, I’ve never seen either of you wear leopard skin that I know of, and not every Transmitter wears leopard skin, but like woodworking, it is a heavy, heavy signal of the instinctual bias.” - Mario [46:34] “I think, at large or in general, Fours are pretty rare in sitcoms, and I say this as a Four.” - TJ Dawe [1:09:58] “Earlier when I said that Parks has some legendary characters, I think Ron Swanson is at the top of that list. And over the course of those hundred-something episodes, there are many, many moments, but this episode had some of the best.” - TJ Ingrassia [32:15] TIMESTAMPS [00:03] Intro [01:24] Hosts’ thoughts on the show [03:49] Five episodes to focus on [10:31] About the show [13:32] Ron Swanson’s Enneagram Type [18:10] One of the great Preserving characters [25:13] Ron’s dynamic with Tammy [31:27] Ron is a survivalist [35:48] Chris Traeger’s Enneagram Type [40:47] Andy Dwyer is also a Type Seven [45:41] Tom Haverford’s Enneagram Type [47:38] Treat Yo Self [51:58] Tom’s Strategy [57:29] Ann Perkins’s Enneagram Type [1:02:07] Jerry’s Enneagram Type [1:06:05] April, Tammy and Ben [1:21:29] Leslie Knope’s Enneagram Type [1:29:20] Leslie’s ambition [1:38:34] Final thoughts Connect with us: Awareness to Action Enneagram on Demand The Awareness to Action Enneagram Podcast Mario Sikora: IG: @mariosikora TikTok: @mariosikora Web: mariosikora.com Substack: mariosikora.substack.com Book: How to Think Well, and Why: The Awareness to Action Guide to Clear Thinking TJ Dawe: Web: tjdawe.ca TJ Ingrassia: Web: tjingrassia.com YouTube: @TypeCast Mentioned in this episode: Awareness to Action Podcast Network Podcast Network