How reading The Wisdom of the Enneagram changed the life of a former businesswoman and social enterprise founder
- Kitty Poon worked in the fashion business for 25 years, then set up Green Skies, an enterprise that trains autistic people to work in rooftop farming
- Reading Don Richard Riso’s book on understanding the human psyche, showed Poon her personality type and helped her transform her life
The Wisdom of the Enneagram: the Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types (1999), by Don Richard Riso, is a comprehensive breakdown of the enneagram framework for understanding the human psyche, which divides people into nine interconnected personality types.
I read the book a long time ago, in 2006. I was a businesswoman for more than 25 years. I got out of that and since then I’ve concentrated on doing social service. It was a critical time in my life. I was searching for what the meaning of life is. I asked myself: for the rest of your life, how do you want to be?
I came across the book after I did a workshop at my church. I discovered I had a lot of interest in this area, so I found a teacher to teach me more about it, and they recommended this book.
I started learning about the enneagram and really studied its philosophy. I was inspired by the theory and how it could apply to my life. I’ve been learning about it for more than 15 years. After I studied this book, I was able to meet the author, when I attended a University of Hong Kong seminar he gave. It made me even more interested in this area. I’ve used it for parenting, for my work and also for management.