Enneagram

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Dear Jack: You are an Enneagram 3W4 (Achiever/Invidualist)

11 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Ever since becoming certified as an Enneagram coach last December, I have had trouble getting a solid reading on you.

But as of this past week, it become clear:

You are an Enneagram 3 (The Achiever) with a dominant wing 4 (The Individualist).

Mommy and I have never put pressure on you to do well in school… nor in Taekwondo, nor in building complicated Lego sets, nor helping us build furniture we order off the Internet!

Yet you constantly excel in everything you do. While Mommy and I aren’t putting this constant “pressure to succeed” on you… you do.

What convinced me was when you came home from school last week, so proud, for certifiably excelling in all your subjects at school, in last year’s standardized test.

As proud of you that Mommy and I assured you that we were of you, it was apparent you were even prouder!

But you’re not only focusing on succeeding in life, you also like to stand out; like how you recently helped purchase your own (expensive!) Nike shoes for the new school year.

For the past couple of years now, you have openly acknowledged your goal to own a Tesla. That is what you have your sights on!

And I am confident you have what it takes… with no help from Mommy or me on that.

I wanted to surprise you with a gift to make you feel special regarding your amazing test scores. So I snuck by Marshall’s and bought you a $100 Sean Jean watch that you had recently pointed out to me.

And it because it was from Marshall’s, I only paid $20.

Either way, you are undeniably smarter than me!

I have always known you are going to go far in life. And now I realize, it’s fundamentally your personality to achieve and to be a creative individual in the process!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Holly: You are an Enneagram 2W3 (Helper/Achiever)

6 years, 4 months.

Dear Holly,

We’re now a few months into me determining that you are officially an Enneagram 2- “The Helper” personality.

This past week, one particular event stood out to back this up.

Thanks to many family members across the USA, you did very well in selling magazine subscriptions as a fundraiser for your school. (That shows your dominant “3 wing- The Achiever”.)

So you got a keychain as a prize for each one sold.

But on the bus ride home from school that day, some older kids saw how many you had and asked if they could all have one.

Reluctantly, you said yes; confused, thinking they were asking to see the prizes, not keep them. But you indeed at given away three of your prizes to kids you didn’t even know.

You kept from crying, long enough to make it off the bus.

Mommy took care of you, though. She explained to your teacher what happened, so you got reimbursed the next day with new prizes.

You are a helper, and an achiever; as this story clearly demonstrates.

And as your Daddy, part of my job is to make sure you don’t help others to the point that you neglect yourself in the process.

Mommy and I are both Enneagram 6s, so we are most motivated to provide security for those we love.

You are so kind and giving- and so easy to love!

That happens to be a trait about people who are Enneagram 2- they never make you wonder if they love you.

Love,

Daddy

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“(Subtitles) I Dare You Not to Fall in Love with Me” – Song 6 – Enneagram 6 Songwriter – Analyzing Lyrics – Themes of Belonging and Security

My 6th song was another one of the four that my wife sang with me. Recorded on November 19th, 2019, I wrote this song as a true duet; which serves as a real-time breakdown of the day we met; on October 5th, 2006.

The lyrics go back and forth between my perspective and my wife’s. It’s rare that I write a “love song”, but this is about as close as it gets to that for me.

It just so happens that both my wife and I happen to be Enneagram 6. Perhaps that’s part of the mutual attraction we saw in each other when we first met, and still experience now, having been married 14 years.

The concept: We saw “stability and security” in each other.

Since Enneagram 6s are known for being overthinkers, I wrote this concept into the song, as the back-and-forth between us addresses what we are both individually thinking. Here are the lyrics:

“Hey pretty girl, whatcha doing the rest of your life? Say the next 50 years or so, starting tonight? I’ll give you the next 5 minutes, all or nothing – When I saw you across the room, you had it coming – This could be interesting, maybe not what I was expecting – I dare you not to fall in love with me – You can’t read my mind right now, you don’t know what I’m thinking – You can’t translate what I say without subtitles at the bottom of the screen – I dare you not to fall in love with me  -Tell me, Mr. Man, what are your plans? Can you charm me, disalarm me, make me laugh? If I couldn’t would you still be standing here? You’re not giving up, that’s pretty clear”

So looking back on this song I wrote nearly 4 years ago, can you see the Enneagram 6? Can you see my longing for security and confirmation of my own existence?

Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

And now you can listen to the song, below, if you wish:

 

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“The Meaning of Life” – Song 5 – Enneagram 6 Songwriter – Analyzing Lyrics – Themes of Belonging and Security

My wife joins me again in my 5th song, which probably wins the prize for the fewest lyrics of any song I’ve written in my life. More important, though, is the dark tone in the concept of this song.

It may be subtle, but in later songs, I revisit the personal confusion I face here in this song (published on November 6th, 2019) with my own understanding of Christian theology:

To possibly end up in hell, despite never choosing to be born with a sinful nature. For an introspective Enneagram 6 like me, I have always lived in anxiety about how happens to our consciousness after we die.

Even outside of the Christian faith, it is regularly assumed that one’s understanding of and carrying out of the meaning of one’s life is ultimately connected to entry to the afterlife.

Here are the lyrics:

“Is it heaven or hell in the end? Or do we fade to a black screen? It came without warning – I never asked to be born – Time is not on our side as we’re finding the meaning of life – I choose faith and hope but there’s no way of knowing – Until it’s too late if I’m wrong, will I know it?”

So looking back on this song I wrote nearly 4 years ago, can you see the Enneagram 6? Can you see my longing for security and confirmation of my own existence?

Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

And now you can listen to the song, below, if you wish:

 

Leave a comment Posted on Enneagram, poetry, songwriter, songwriting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

“We’re Gonna Leave in the Morning” – Song 4 – Enneagram 6 Songwriter – Analyzing Lyrics – Themes of Belonging and Security

It takes no stretch of the imagination to understand that my 4th song was written by an Enneagram 6, to an Enneagram 6.

This is the first official entry in my series of songs that I wrote specifically for my wife; as a glimpse into our relationship.

Ultimately, this song serves as a direct sequel to the song I wrote before it: “Fort Payne, Alabama“. It is about us starting over from our failed move to my hometown- and together, coming up with a new vision of our future together.

Apparently, that explains the line, “We won’t get lost, not this time. We’re gonna leave behind the plans we called Plan A.”

As Enneagram 6s, my wife and I both have 7 wings- and I would say that optimism stands out in these lyrics.

This also makes the first song of several in which I was able to convince my wife to sing with me.

Here are the lyrics:

“We’re gonna leave in the morning – We’re gonna hit the ground running – I know just where we’re going – We won’t get lost, not this time – We’re gonna leave behind the life we called Plan A – As follow the dots and lines of the painted interstate – And I don’t care if we’re just running off of fumes – As long as I’m with you – So put on that Speedwagon shirt you like to wear to bed – We’ll wake up about the time the coffee hits our heads – You’ll be the prettiest picture that’s ever been Instagrammed – As long as I’m your man – I will be your captain, you will be my lovely lady – I will take you where you want to go”

So looking back on this song I wrote nearly 4 years ago, can you see the Enneagram 6? Can you see my longing for security and confirmation of my own existence?

Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

And now you can listen to the song, below, if you wish: