Typology

What happens when the worst thing you've been afraid of actually happens—and you're still standing?
In this episode of Typology, I sit down with songwriter Brad Warren—an Enneagram Six, a man in long-term recovery, a husband, a father, and someone who has walked straight through unimaginable grief and come out the other side with humility, humor, and hard-won wisdom. Brad is the kind of person who tells the truth without posturing, who can laugh at himself without diminishing himself, and who understands—deeply—that fear doesn't disappear just because you name it. But naming it does change the game.
We talk about the Enneagram Six's instinct to scan the horizon for danger, to rehearse conversations that never happen, and to catastrophize not because they're weak—but because they care. A lot. Brad shares how losing a child forced him to face his worst fears head-on, and how recovery, faith, and accountability helped him learn the difference between imagined catastrophe and lived reality. There's a kind of quiet courage in the way he describes trusting God—not a God who's looking to smite him, but one who's patiently inviting him to rest.
Along the way, we explore humor as both a survival strategy and a spiritual practice, the surprising connection between humility and laughter, and how Sixes learn to move from fear-driven vigilance to faith-filled presence. We also touch on marriage, loyalty, religious deconstruction with gratitude instead of bitterness, and the life-saving power of people who are willing to tell you the truth when your mind is lying to you.
This episode is funny, tender, honest, and deeply human. It's about fear—but it's even more about trust. And what it looks like, day by day, to choose it anyway.
 
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About Brad Warren
Brad Warren is a Nashville-based songwriter and artist best known as one half of the hitmaking Warren Brothers. He has co-written major country hits recorded by Tim McGraw, Toby Keith , Keith Urban, Faith Hill , Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean and more.
Brad is also the host of the Good Grief Good God podcast. He and his wife Michelle lost their oldest son Sage in 2020 and the podcast is in honor of him. Brad covers an array of other topics (recovery, God, mental and physical health, and The Music Business) as well as grief. Guests have ranged from Sheryl Crow and Amy Grant to Scott Hamilton and Charles Esten.

What happens when the need to appear competent becomes the very thing that disconnects us from others—and from ourselves?
In this deeply honest and surprisingly funny conversation, Ian welcomes author, speaker, and Enneagram Three, Steve Cuss for a wide-ranging dialogue on anxiety, performance, false self, and the quiet freedom that comes with becoming more human-sized. Drawing from Steve's experience as a hospital chaplain, pastor, and leadership consultant, they explore why our most polished coping strategies often come from fear, how predictable patterns keep us stuck, and why anxiety is so contagious in families, churches, and organizations.
Along the way, they unpack the Enneagram Three's drive to succeed, the exhaustion of self-presentation, the difference between ambition and authenticity, and why true maturity looks a lot like being relaxed—no masks required. Expect stories, laughs, hard-earned wisdom, and a refreshing reminder that you don't have to win the room to belong in it.
If your nervous system needs a deep breath and your soul could use some permission to stand down from proving itself, this episode is for you.
 
 
About Steve Cuss
Steve Cuss, M.Div. is a pastor, former chaplain, and founder of Capable Life, which helps people lower internal and relational anxiety in the workplace and homeplace. Steve is a Spiritual Care Professional in the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, holding 1600 hours of supervised ministry in CPE and a Masters degree focusing on Family Systems Theory and Theology. Steve, his wife, Lisa, and their two sons and a daughter live in Erie, Colorado.
Connect with Steve at:
Website: https://capablelife.com and https://stevecusswords.com
Soul Care Intensives: https://capablelife.com/pages/intensives
Podcast: Being Human with Steve Cuss
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What if your most meaningful work begins after you stop striving to prove yourself?
In this warm, wide-ranging conversation, I sit down with old friend, songwriter, filmmaker, and Enneagram Two Andrew Greer for a heartful exploration of loneliness, love, boundaries, creativity, and what it really means to live a good life.
Andrew opens up about the hidden sadness behind the Enneagram Two's gift for connection—the ache that often fuels the desire to help, anticipate, and care for others. Together, we unpack how pride, control, and fear of being a burden can quietly shape relationships, and how learning to receive may be the most courageous spiritual practice of all.
We also dive into Andrew's new book, More Than a President, and explore Jimmy Carter as a quintessential Enneagram One—principled, disciplined, justice-driven, and far more impactful after the presidency than during it.
This episode is a meditation on personality, vocation, and maturity—on shifting focus from résumé to soul, from achievement to love, from striving to rest. It's thoughtful, funny, deeply human, and quietly challenging.
Pull up a chair. This one stays with you.
 
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About Andrew Greer
Author, musician, and filmmaker, Andrew Greer has published three books, released multiple chart-topping recordings, and directed the PBS documentary Plainspoken, a film inspired by the lives of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and their neighbors in Plains, Georgia. A Texas native, and longtime Nashvillian, Greer now makes his home in Plains.
Website: https://www.andrew-greer.com/
New Book: http://sundayswithjimmycarter.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewbgreer/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/agreermusic

This Christmas, we're delighted to bring back one of our most beloved conversations with Enneagram Three, pastor, and author AJ Sherrill. In this replay, AJ joins me to revisit the Nativity story—not as the sentimental tale we often breeze past each year, but as a rich, multilayered narrative pulsing with mystery, courage, vulnerability, and divine surprise.
AJ shares his own journey into spiritual direction, what it's teaching him about listening, presence, and compassion, and how the Enneagram continues to shape his inner world. We explore why the season invites us to slow down, pay attention, and resist the frantic pace that so easily numbs our capacity for wonder.
Together, we dig beneath the familiar Christmas imagery to uncover the often-misunderstood characters who surround the manger—the homeowner who offered radical hospitality, Zechariah rediscovering awe through silence, and even Herod, whose shadow side has more to teach us than we might expect. Their stories echo our own desires, fears, and growth edges in striking ways.
We also have some fun speculating about the Enneagram archetypes present in the Christmas narrative—Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, and others—and how their unique postures toward God can inspire our own transformation.
This episode is thoughtful, illuminating, and sprinkled with the kind of laughter and honesty that always seems to show up when AJ is with us.
A perfect listen for Christmas Day.
Settle in, take a breath, and join us as we rediscover the story beneath the story—and the God who meets us there.

With the holidays just around the corner, we're bringing back a conversation that continues to deliver relational gold. Whether you heard it the first time or you're discovering it now, this replay with author and Enneagram teacher Christina Wilcox offers a beautifully practical and deeply compassionate look at how the Enneagram can transform the way we show up for one another during the most emotionally charged season of the year.
In this episode, Christina shares her journey of discovering herself as an Enneagram Six—along with the courage, clarity, and self-understanding that followed. Together, we explore how each type navigates holiday stress, joy, expectation, and connection…and how you can care for the people you love in ways that truly meet them where they are.
You'll learn:
How to support friends and family of every Enneagram type through the busyness and emotional intensity of the holidays

Practical tools for managing social anxiety, especially for Sixes

Why presence and gratitude matter so deeply, particularly for Fours—and how all of us can cultivate them

Simple, insightful practices for building healthier, more attuned relationships this time of year

Whether you're hoping to deepen your emotional intelligence, strengthen your closest relationships, or simply bring more kindness and awareness into your holiday rhythms, this episode is a gift worth unwrapping again.
Lean in, listen well, and let the Enneagram help you love the people in your life a little better this Christmas.
 
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P.S. For a limited time, take 40% off all Enneagram Courses through the holidays.  Use the discount code HOLIDAY40 here.