020 - Book | The Sacred Enneagram

08/27/19 • 20 min

Back in Episode 18, I shared how I was introduced to the Enneagram, a little bit about my type— I'm a type three. I also gave a glimpse into my life and thoughts and struggles and strengths as an Enneagram type three. But I don't want to assume everybody listening knows what this weird word the Enneagram means. So I kind of want to go back to basics for a minute before jumping into the book, The Sacred Enneagram, so let's start with this. What the heck is the Enneagram?

Basically, the Enneagram is like a personality typing tool. The difference between the Enneagram and other personality tests that you see out there is that the Enneagram sticks with you for life. You're going to figure out what your number is on the Enneagram, what type you are, and that's the same in childhood, and adolescence, and in your adult life, and even as you age, it doesn't change. I've taken other personality tests like Strengths Finders or DISC and I love this kind of stuff. I love it. I think it's so fascinating. With those things, they kind of change. Like, I had different strengths in one season of my life and then different strengths in another season of my life. But this one, if you know your type on the Enneagram, it doesn't change it.

It's based in what motivates you. It's based in your basic fears. It's based in a lot of different things. But one thing I found interesting, most of the Enneagram authors agree that we are all born with a dominant type, so people don't change from one basic type to another. Like I said, your type is your type for life. And there is kind of a mix of I guess nature versus nurture, but they said you're born with a type and then oftentimes your childhood wound or something that you experienced in childhood is also what shapes your type. Anyway, I thought that was pretty interesting, as well. If you don't know what your number is on the Enneagram, there are free tests that you can take online to find out. (Side note, I recommend reading The Road Back to You over taking a test.)

As we kind of transition into the book, The Sacred Enneagram, just know that this is more of a deeper dive for someone who is more familiar with the Enneagram and someone who kind of wants to bridge that gap between, okay, I know my type, what does this mean for my faith walk? What does this mean for my relationship with Jesus? And that is why I wanted to read this book.

Listen in as we jump into The Sacred Enneagram and my three takeaways from this book.

For the full transcript, head to this episode's blog post!

Resources from this episode:

The Sacred Enneagram, by Chris Heuertz

Episode 018 - Life as an Enneagram 3

Enneagram Institute website

The Road Back to You, by Ian Cronn & Suzanne Stabile

Practicing the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence

Nancy Ray Book Club

*Affiliate links have been used!

Listen in as we jump into The Sacred Enneagram and my three takeaways from this book.

For the full transcript, head to this episode's blog post!

Resources from this episode:

The Sacred Enneagram, by Chris Heuertz

Episode 018 - Life as an Enneagram 3

Enneagram Institute website

The Road Back to You, by Ian Cronn & Suzanne Stabile

Practicing the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence

Nancy Ray Book Club

*Affiliate links have been used!

Previous Episode

019 - The Top 3 Reasons I Built a Team

Back in 2012, Will and I were sitting across from each other in a coffee shop discussing the big picture future of my business, Nancy Ray Photography. We were at a crossroads trying to decide if we wanted to stay on the quote unquote, "Husband and wife team" route, that most photographers take, or if we wanted to do something different: take a risk and hire associate photographers to form a team.

When Will and I began talking about what it would look like to actually hire someone, to actually grow our team, we started with a list of all of the risk involved and all of our fears. Basically we made a massive list of all the downsides to doing this. We knew it would take a lot of time and a lot of training. We knew that we would be inviting other people in to the business that we've built, that I would share all my secrets, that we didn't have a guarantee that it would work, that we would be changing something that's working just fine.

We realized that we'd have to release control over some things, that I would have to trust other people to edit the photos that I always edited, the photos that I take, really letting go of my creative control. I'd have to let go of the methods and processes that I learned the hard way with sweat and tears and I would just hand it over to someone and teach them. It honestly felt like I was giving away too much, even if I hired them.

But then we started making a list of what life would look like if we did build a team. We wouldn't have to be the ones to shoot every single wedding. We could serve more couples and more families. Will, my husband, would have the freedom to step away from Nancy Ray Photography if he ever wanted to do different work.

We were so nervous and we honestly didn't know which direction that we wanted to go. There were pros and cons to both options and Will and I, unlike a lot of spouses, really worked well together. So after all of that, we decided to take the risk and build an associate team.

It ended up being one of the best decisions I've ever made in my business, and today, I'm going to tell you why.

For the full transcript, head to this episode's blog post!

Resources from this episode:

Episode 004 - Seasons of Business

Access the FREE Team Resource Vault

Next Episode

021 - Hiring, Part I: 5 Ways to Know You're Ready

I get the question all the time: How do you do it all?

My answer every time is: I don't. I don't do it all. I ask for help.

I have a team that works hard behind the scenes in my business, and I have a lot of family members that help out with the kids. We have a nanny. I ask for help. Now, I want to preface this by saying we're going to start a two part series, this week and next week, that's all about hiring.

But if you're reading this and you're like, "Nancy, I don't own a business. This doesn't apply to me," I just want to encourage you to listen anyway and expand your thinking from hiring to asking for help, because you mamas listening know that it's a lot of hard work raising babies, and you need some extra help, and sometimes it's hard to ask. Yes, I'm going to be talking all about business stuff, but I want you to know this could apply to you, too.

Rewinding life back a little bit to when I was a solo show, and I was considering hiring someone, I was scared. Terrified might actually be a better word. Hiring someone or asking for help can be one of the scariest steps that you can take, but it can also be one of the best steps you can take. Today we'll jump into five ways you know you're ready to hire or you're ready to ask for some help and maybe add someone onto your team, whether that's your business team or your home team.

We're also going to tackle some misconceptions about hiring, when you shouldn't hire somebody. This is just going to be a simple two part series on hiring, for this week and next week. I have loved growing my team over the last seven years, so bear with my excitement. I get a little bit nerdy when I talk about this stuff, but if you're considering hiring someone or think you might need some help, this episode is for you.

For the full transcript, click here!

Resources from this episode:

Get all of our FREE team resources!

Traction, by Gino Wickman

Episode 019 - The Top 3 Reasons I Built a Team

**Affiliate links have been used in this post!!