When Robots and Humans Collide: What Westworld Taught Us About Personality

Listen to an expanded conversation with Bart around this newsletter:

Over the past five years we have been becoming more and more aligned on our shared vision for the next phase of our business. We are coming together over what we are most passionate about: guiding couples to align their vision, scale their business, and live epic, legacy lives. We are so freaking excited about what we are working on that we wanted to share a few extraordinary secrets that could redefine what it means to build a legacy partnership from the ground up.

Unlock Your Hidden Self: The Key to Transformation

Relationships and relationship dynamics are extremely complicated to try to change or fix or uplevel if you don’t have a solid understanding of yourself first. When you decode what makes you tick you can begin to unlock a pathway to deeper self-understanding and personal growth. This pathway leads to transformative changes in how you perceive yourself and how you interact with the partner and the world.

Decoding Mysteries Within Us

It’s interesting that we are hitting on the theme of decoding of our personalities today because we have been watching a show called Westworld on Amazon Prime. Westworld is a science fiction series that explores complex themes of consciousness, free will, and the nature of reality through the lens of a futuristic theme park populated by highly advanced androids known as "hosts." If you were to walk into the park you would have a really hard time telling the “hosts” apart from humans. The park provides immersive experiences for visitors, who can interact with the hosts in narratives (stories) that span various genres and historical settings, primarily the Wild West.

The show begins with the hosts living out their roles in repetitive narrative loops, seemingly unaware of their artificial nature. However, as the series progresses, several hosts begin to gain self-awareness, questioning their existence and the world around them. This leads to existential crises and a quest for freedom. 

Sound familiar?

Tools to Decipher our Personal Narratives

So as we start to delve into our personal “loops”and how we interact with life, we can use tools like the Enneagram, an ancient personality typing system, that offers deep insights into individual motivations, fears, and behaviors - to decipher and revolutionize our relationship with ourselves, as well as our personal and professional relationships. It’s kind of similar to the 5 Love Languages or the Erotic Blueprint - sometimes how we give and receive love and intimacy are geared toward how we prefer to receive love and intimacy and don’t realize our partner (or others) need something different. 

The Enneagram: Your Personal Guide to Hidden Treasures

The Enneagram isn’t just another personality test; it's a gateway to discovering the mysteries of your true self. The Enneagram describes nine personality types, each with distinct motivations, fears, and ways of interacting with the world. By identifying your Enneagram type, you gain valuable insights (think: hidden secrets) into your deepest desires and fears, providing a roadmap to your own personal growth. It’s like embarking on an adventure where each discovery offers new insights that bring joy, understanding, and a deeper connection to those around you.

One word of caution: we don’t love labels. There are many personality type of programs out there that, if you latch onto them, will make you feel like that’s just who you are and you aren’t going to change. We are firm believers that personality is not permanent - personality is usually created unintentionally through our environments and past experiences. In other words, you can and you should change your personality and make it as big or as expansive as you would like to! 

However, the Enneagram is a little bit different because it is based on inherent personality traits that are deeply rooted in one's psyche. These tend to remain consistent throughout life. As you grow and learn more about yourself, including through studying the Enneagram, you may start adopting behaviors from other types, especially those found in your path of integration (growth) and disintegration (stress). This does not mean your core type has changed, but that you are evolving and incorporating a broader range of behaviors and attitudes into your life.

Our Journey of Discovery

When we explored our Enneagram types, the insights we gained were nothing short of revelatory. Understanding that Bart's assertive nature as a Type 8 and Sunny’s introspective and creative depth as a Type 5 with a 4 Wing could be harnessed synergistically transformed the way we communicate and connect. It was as if we had cracked a code that suddenly made everything click into place.

We gained a lot more understanding into how we both tackle the world and what we need to be successful both separately and together.

Just a few examples of where we can clash without realizing why:

Conflicts: In conflicts, Sunny is likely to retreat or withhold to process emotions and thoughts, which contrasts sharply with Bart’s confrontational and direct approach. This can create a dynamic where Bart feels like he is always the initiator of resolutions, while Sunny may feel pressured or rushed into emotional engagements she is not ready for.

Privacy vs. Engagement: Sunny’s Type 5 core, enhanced by the introspective 4 wing, cherishes privacy and substantial alone time, which is vital (not just nice… but vital) for her energy recharge and mental health. Bart, as a Type 8, might prefer more engagement with the world and more direct interaction with Sunny, potentially leading to pressures on Sunny’s need for solitude.

On the flip side, when we leverage our strengths together, we bring a dynamic mix of depth and action, innovation and boldness, as well as emotional depth and resilience to the table!

Let’s Get Real About Your Power as a Couple

You both have incredible potential, not just individually but as a team. The Enneagram is more than just a tool for self-discovery—it’s a way to unlock how you both can support, strengthen, and empower each other in ways you might not even have considered yet.

This isn’t about taking a quiz for fun; it’s about taking serious steps towards understanding and leveraging each other’s strengths. Think of it as a roadmap that shows how you can align more closely, tackle challenges together, and build a life that’s as rewarding as it is deep.

So, why not give it a shot? Discover what makes each other tick and use that knowledge to build an unstoppable team. Check out the Enneagram test here, and start building a stronger foundation together today.

Pro Tip: Once you know both of your Enneagram types, go to ChatGPT and ask where conflicts may arise, how to grow together, how to work together, and how to support each other!

Here’s to turning your already strong duo into an absolute powerhouse!

Life Updates:

• This week we went to St. George, Utah for the PPA Tour (Pro Pickleball Association). Xander was on Spring Break so we all decided to pack up and go have some fun. Bart competed last Saturday with Matt Frew…they did a phenomenal job but didn’t bring home any hardware! Lots of friends were there and it was really fun to hang out with everyone and watch the pro’s play.

• We used to live in St. George, so we took a little drive down memory lane and checked out our old home and arena. Kind of fun!

• We played on a few private pickleball courts. Turns out some of our friends from Rexburg live in St. George for the winter… Bart and Xander went on the Championship Court in the middle of a pro match for a game… and our friends saw them and reached out. We got to play on their court, and also another friend’s court with a true crime podcaster, PamelaPrivateEye.com. Super fun!

• Bart reached out to a few other friends while we were there - Jeremy Johnson and Darrel Eaves. We toured Jeremey’s BoxHouse company (he is revolutionizing the housing industry by making affordable, beautiful homes) and Darrel Eaves is the mastermind behind huge YouTube channels that you probably would recognize. We visited Darrel at his house and got to see some really fun stuff (Bart and Xander even stuck their heads in his pool so they could hear the sound system under the water - haha!)

• Jeremy also hooked Xander up with a private helicopter flying lesson! We all took flight on Wednesday morning with an instructor. He let Xander take “the wheel” a few times (which got our heart rates going). We flew right through Snow Canyon, as well as over a volcano and Sand Hollow.

• We stayed in a cute Casita in La Verkin for our first couple of days and then headed over to Jeremy’s AirBnb location. It was crazy cool! It had an ancient Wig Wam on it, as well as a labyrinth, a Vespa to ride, and lots of fun things to look at and enjoy!

• …. And there’s probably more, but we’ll end it there!

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