Today we're celebrating our 8-year anniversary of the podcast with our annual podcast takeover. This year, the conversation is hosted by my friend and design community champion Jen Davidson of Interiors by Jen Davidson. In this episode, Jen leads the conversation, and we dive deep into the results of my Enneagram test. My personality type is revealed, and we discuss the corresponding characteristics that both surprised me and made perfect sense of it all. This conversation is a rare glimpse into the strengths and weaknesses that guide and challenge my personal and business journey.

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

• Rick celebrates 8 years of Design Biz Survival Guide with the annual podcast takeover episode.
• Jen Davidson introduces the Enneagram as a personality tool that helps reveal the motivations, fears, and desires behind behavior.
• Rick shares that his Enneagram results revealed he is a One wing Nine: the reformer with a peacemaker wing.
• Rick and Jen discuss how perfectionism, integrity, fear of failure, and the inner critic show up in Rick's personal and business life.
• Jen explains how Enneagram numbers shift in stress and growth, and how understanding those patterns can create more self-awareness.
• Rick reflects on how self-awareness can help entrepreneurs better navigate business challenges, creative blocks, and personal growth.
• Jen shares how the Enneagram has helped her better understand herself, her clients, her team, and her business relationships.
• Rick opens up about vulnerability, control, organization, and how his Enneagram results gave him a new tool for understanding himself as a coach and entrepreneur.

NOTABLE QUOTES

• "The better we understand ourselves, I think the better we'll understand our actions and how we arrive at this endgame that we're calling success, whatever that looks like, it's different for everyone."
• "I'm not a control freak. I'm a control enthusiast."
• "Being vulnerable is actually a gift to others."
• "Our business is so much of who we are. It's important to know these things and to understand yourself better, so that you can build a better business because we are not a product."

SUPPORTING RESOURCES

• Link to Eclectic Energies Enneagram Test: https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test
• Link to The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron: https://www.amazon.com/Road-Back-You-Enneagram-Self-Discovery/dp/0830846190/
• Interiors by Jen Davidson: https://interiorsbyjendavidson.com/

SPONSOR LINKS

• Design Spec: https://designspec.com/survivalguide
• Interior Design Society: https://interiordesignsociety.org/