The Enneagram in a Movie

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.

0:00:00 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