Enneagram: "A Tool For Compassion" - Sleeping At Last

This. This. This.
SLEEPING AT LAST
Years ago, I was in the passenger seat of my friend Jason's car, and we were driving around in LA.  He turns on music by this artist "Sleeping At Last".  I tell him I've never heard of them.  He tells me that when I listen to his songs, I'm gonna cry. 

First of all, whenever someone hypes something up like that, even if I want to be impacted by it, I already start building up a wall and brace myself to be disappointed. He turns on the album "Yearbook".  We sit quietly in the car in LA traffic, listening.  And there I am, a few minutes into one of the songs, and I'm in tears.  I immediately laugh in disbelief and say "HOW DID THAT HAPPEN"? 😭😭😭

ENNEAGRAM
Fast forward to a few months ago when I was introduced (for the 2nd time) to the Enneagram.  Years ago, our friends in NY tried to turn my wife and I onto this personality test - and I immediately gave up trying to understand it.  Probably because an example of the worst version of my enneagram type was OJ Simpson, and for Jinny, it was Woody Allen.  I didn't want to know anymore. 😂

But this 2nd time around, it stuck (thanks to Doug and Adele Calhoun - who I also happen to work with!).  In fact, I became OBSESSED about learning everything I can about it - because unlike other personality tests that merely assess you as you are and leave it at that, the Enneagram can show you specifically what steps you can take to become a BETTER version of your true self.  Let me unpack that a little.  There are a total of 9 Enneagram types, and out of the 9,  everyone has a predominant type (and some would argue that we are born with this dominant type).  I can either be a "healthy" version of that number, or "unhealthy" version (and there's middle of the road too).  It depends on the state or season that I'm in, but the fact that I'm that number really doesn't change.  If you take a good test, it tells you what you can do to become a healthier version.  I don't know if that makes sense, but I'm really BLAZING through this because I don't want to really EXPLAIN the ENNEAGRAM here, I want to talk about what I'm excited to tell you about!  (But if you want to learn more about the Enneagram, THIS IS A GOOD PLACE TO START)

NOW, PUT THOSE TWO TOGETHER
Late this summer, I found out that "Sleeping At Last" is going to start a new project where he's going to write songs from the perspective of each enneagram type!  I already knew I was going to love it, and I couldn't wait!  And finally, last month there it was in my inbox, an email from Sleeping At Last, with a link to the new song: ONE. 

It's as beautiful as I expected it to be.

This is just so many of my favorite things coming together!  Simply gorgeous music with rich insightful lyrics, diving deep into each personality type.  And it gets better.  I just realized there is a podcast that Ryan O'Neal (of Sleeping At Last) started just a few months ago where he explains his process of writing songs, and in episode 4, he dissects ONE for us.  He starts going into all the reasons why specific musical choices were made, and how they help personify a Type 1 in musical form, and I'll tell ya...  Mind. Blown.  Seriously, the enneagram lover, the producer & the musician in me is just GEEKING OUT every single minute of this podcast (honestly, if I was still doing music - I would just give up after listening to this because it's literally everything I wish I would have done if I was genius enough to even think about doing it!), and I can't really do it justice by regurgitating everything Ryan talks about, so if you are any of the following (Enneagram lover, a Type 1, someone who cares about Type 1s, a music lover, a musician with studio experience, or producer) - trust me, and listen to this episode.  It is chock-full of good stuff:

EPISODE 4 "ONE" & The Enneagram

But what I love the most, and what really brings it all together is how he describes what the Enneagram is to him.  He called it "A Tool For Compassion".  YES!  I resonate so much with that description.  I remember when I first began understanding how the Enneagram worked, not only did I obsess over learning more about myself, I started reading up on EVERY type.  Then I started running through the Enneagram types of all the important people in my life, and if I happened to know their number - things began to click.  If I didn't, I tried to take a guess at what numbers my friends/loved ones were (and a decent amount of times, I was right 😁).  I started having empathy for those people as I began to understand better how they were wired.  Then I started to wonder what my 2 year old son's enneagram type might be, and how I might be able to equip him for success to be the healthiest version of that type!

I want to be healthy.  I want to connect with those I love.  At the core, this is why I'm a huge fan of The Enneagram.  And now, thanks to Sleeping At Last, we can all literally have a "soundtrack of our lives".

EDIT (11/17/17) - QUICK NOTE TO THOSE WONDERING WHERE THEY CAN HEAR THE SONGS:
The Enneagram songs are part of a series called ATLAS 2.  You can find the songs on iTunes and on,  SPOTIFY (they are the latest songs in the Playlist)  BUT what I really suggest is that you listen to his podcast where he explains the song AND you can hear the song there as well (or if you're already a SAL fan or JUST became a fan - SUBSCRIBE to his mailing list and you'll get all the goodness before it's public!)

PS - Without cheating, since I have the info in my "About Section", if you know me, and know the enneagram - what would you guess my number to be? :)

Always Reply All

I apologize, that title up there was meant to grab your attention (wow, was that my first clickbait?!),  but I'm not going to talk about email etiquette so you can opt out now if you don't want to read anymore... OR.... stay and read about a podcast I am a huge fanboy of!  Yeah... this entry is about how I ALWAYS listen to REPLY ALL, so you know... legit title, right? :)

One of these days, I'll post about my favorite podcasts that I subscribe to, but today is a short and sweet *mwah mwah* (those are like kissing sounds that are sometimes used to make fun of people who kiss up to people in case that didn't come across!) to one of my TOP 5 Podcasts: REPLY ALL.  

At first, I was going to highlight only ONE of my favorite episodes, which I will, but first I'm gonna riff a bit on why I am addicted to listening to these two fine gentlemen: Alex Goldman & PJ Vogt.

First, I've been really out of the loop, so I didn't even know that Podcast Journalism was a thing, and I haven't really listened to many forms of that except for "Serial", which is also great - but this is podcast journalism at its best (not that I have any real qualifications to say that, but there I said it!)  These guys cover a LOT of ground, and their show basically covers all things interesting that are happening on the internet, so there's a little bit of everything for everyone - and you'll also learn a thing or two here and there!

Second, Alex & PJ are just a killer combo.  The first thing you'll notice w/in the first 5 minutes is their LAUGHS.  Especially PJ's.  It is infectious and sometimes even influences the way I laugh (and I'm not even trying to be influenced!).  But these two are not only sharp, but super likeable in their own ways, and complement each other well in their personalities, and have a way about relating to each other (while delivering amazing content) that makes you want to be sitting in the room with them.  It's impossible to imagine NOT having a good conversation with them at any given time.  

Here are a few of my favorites in no particular order:

1.  LONG DISTANCE
When you receive a phone call w/ an unidentified number, but decide to pick up anyway and realize that yet again it is an unwanted marketing call OR there's a chance someone is trying to scam you - most people just hang up the phone.  But not Alex Goldman.  No spoilers, but he not only stays on the phone with the person, but ends up going out of his way to learn more and expose the people on the other end.  This is a two part episode and it is RIVETING!

2. ZARDULU
When all of a sudden, you find that there might have been way more to the pizza rat and selfie rat that meets the eye.

3. FACEBOOK SPYING ON YOU
So many of us have a huge love & hate relationship with social media, but THIS episode brings the feeling of uneasiness to a new level, and makes it a little too close to home - like actually inside your home.  And yet, I can't seem to delete my account, so what does that say about me?!   But this episode is the most recent, and the one I really came here to talk about today -  but I'm too big of a REPLY ALL fanatic to NOT give you a bit more to chew on!

Also, here's a list directly from GIMLET/REPLY ALL for first time listeners.

Give your daily commute an upgrade, and SUBSCRIBE to REPLY ALL Y'ALL!

PS - Shout out to my bud G. Sing who turned me onto this podcast!

PIVOT: Part 1 [Andrew Osenga Podcast]

Pivot.  I’ve been thinking a lot about this word these days.  I love this word for several reasons, especially during this particular season of my life.  But before I get into it, if you haven’t ever seen the Friends episode with Pivot, check out the video below.  You’re welcome.

For me, this goes down in history as one of the best TV sitcom moments ever.  I watched this again last night to relive the Pivot hilarity, and I just lost it. My wife too, who almost never laughs at anything I show her on the internet or in pop culture that I find funny.  Even she laughed!  Literally, every time I think about the word “Pivot”, this is what comes to mind first!

But the second and more important thing that comes to mind is how we use this word in the context of careers or big life changes.  What I like about this word even better than “transition” or “shift” is that it lends itself to the idea that ultimately, I stay rooted in who I am and I just merely turn and face a slightly different direction.  All my experiences in life and skills I’ve accrued along the way - I still have them and get to use them, but maybe for a different group of people… or the SAME people but in a different way.

MY PIVOTY JOURNEY
I experienced a major Pivot when I went from being a full time singer/songwriter/musician to becoming a Worship Director/Pastor.  After almost 10 years of ‘facing this direction’, I see on the horizon some sort of pivot happening again.  I don’t know what it is, or what it will look like - but I see it coming eventually and so I’ve been taking this time to hit the brakes, pull over to the side from my “get it done” lifestyle, and truly examine myself, my personality, my skillset, and all that I’ve been through in the last two decades of my life.  When I found myself in this headspace, which has been pretty often these days, the first thing I wanted to do was to be able to glean some wisdom from people who have already successfully pivoted, or listen to stories of people who are experiencing it currently.  As it turns out, I knew a few people.

And here’s where I’ll ‘pivot’ in this entry to embrace my fanboyness to share about two people I’m a big fan of.  (I'll cover the 2nd person in Part 2)

ANDREW OSENGA: THE PIVOT
I’ll begin with Andrew Osenga.  I actually have to try REALLY hard right now to NOT lose focus and not go on and on about Andrew Osenga’s music career, his angelic voice that can turn on a dime and go full out rockstar with no autotune needed, the fact that he played guitar and sang on two of my albums (While We Wait & Parallel), and how I obsessed for a really long time over one of his albums he recorded in a SPACESHIP  he created by himself.  Again, I’m trying really hard NOT to go into all of that right now.  Instead, I’m gonna talk about something ELSE he did on TOP of all that - a podcast he created, called THE PIVOT.

In season 1 of his podcast, he talks to several people (9 to be exact) who have experienced pivots in their lives (both in careers and life in general), and a huge bonus for me is that he actually interviews 4 people I’ve been a huge fan of in different seasons of my life (Andrew Peterson, Bebo Norman, Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay, and Dave Barnes).  My favorite by far is his episode with Dave Barnes (another artist I can go on and on about).  It’s incredibly comforting listening to people I can truly relate with.   Seriously.  There aren’t a lot of people around where I live that I’m currently friends with that I can talk to and say “remember that time we were struggling to be singer songwriters, and then life happened, and we had to adjust accordingly”?

I also need to add:  Osenga knows how to interview people!  He is SO good!  It's a skill that not too many podcast hosts have.  It doesn't hurt that he's got a really soothing voice, but tie that in with the fact that Osenga knows when to be quiet, when to jump in and help the person out to complete or summarize their thoughts, and when to inject some humor, and... when to cry :)   One pet peeve I have is when the interviewers (in trying to relate) starts talking about themselves and makes it all about THEM and not the subject.  Even that, he does well.  He'll tell a quick little story.  In.  Out.  Boom.  Done.       

But back to my point -  even if you’re not a singer/songwriter, it’s a great listen.  Favorite interview goes to Dave Barnes.  As expected, really funny - but also moving and convicting at times (especially his take on being a parent and being a musician #realtalk).  The podcast in general is a great sneak peak into the lives of indie musicians who ended up having great success in their careers.

Go ahead and check it out!  THE PIVOT