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.

Chapters
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