Who moved my cheese is an amusing and enlightening story of 4 characters who live in a maze and look for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Cheese is a metaphor for what you want to have in life - good job, money, health, a loving relationship etc. And the maze is where you look for what you want - an organisation you work in, or the family or community you live in.

What Is The Book About? 

Hem acts adament and rejects the idea of looking for new cheese by making excuses birthed by fear. Haw on the other hand decides to overcome his fear by asking "what would you do if you were not afraid?" and goes back into the maze to look for new cheese after a while. Sniff and Scurry by this time have discovered the new cheese section already. Haw on his journey writes down helpful tips for Hem in order to persuade him to move ahead from his situation when he realizes he can only pave a way for Hem but not force him to walk it. After hardships, Haw finally reaches his cheese and is content.

Story Summary Continuation 

1. Change Happens - Circumstances keep moving the cheese with time2. Anticipate Change - Get ready for the cheese to move 3. Monitor Change - Smell the cheese often and know when it is getting old 4. Adapt to change - let go of old cheese sooner to enjoy new cheese 5. Change - move with the cheese 6. Enjoy change - savour the adventure and learn to laugh on yourself 7.Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again and again - as the circumstances will keep on moving your cheese

Key Learnings 

In the story, Sniff and Scurry are mice and Hem and Haw are little people. Sniff and Scurry have simple behaviours and Hem and Haw resemble complex human behaviours. All four of them start their journey in a maze looking for cheese and stumble upon a cheese section which is filled with cheese for a repeated amount of days. This repetition leads to Hem and Haw getting comfortable with the idea that the cheese will always be there. When one day this cheese vanishes, Scurry and Sniff immediately go around looking for new cheese but Hem and Haw resist.

Story Summary 

Dr. Spencer Johnson is a B.A in psychology from the university of Southern California. He has an M.D degree from the Royal College of Surgeons and medical clerkship at Harvard Medical School and The Mayo Clinic. He is an international bestselling author with books like one minute series and the perennial favourite The Precious Present. His books have been featured often in media including CNN, The Today Show, Time Magazine, USA Today and Wall Street Journal and are available in 41 languages worldwide. He died in July 2017 leaving a legacy of helpful stories behind.

About The Author 

This story is short and simple and uses extremely direct metaphors to explain it's learnings. The story can be interpreted in many ways according to the reader's perspective. It teaches us how we can embrace change and learn to adapt ourselves with it; a skill that I believe is extremely crucial in this new ever changing world. Also, this book can be completed in less than an hour and is bound to leave you with a lighter heart and fiery motivation to go out and get your cheese.

Why Is It Worth Reading? (My Opinion) 

The best laid schemeso' mice and menoften go astray

Who Moved My Cheese 

There are 4 protagonists in this story with their respective characteristics that resemble the simple and the complex behaviours that are a part of all of us :-1. Sniff - Predicts change early 2. Scurry - Hurries into action 3. Hem - Denies and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse4. Haw - Learns to adapt in time when he sees changing can lead to something better

Know The Characters 

This book teaches you the importance of embracing change and adapting to it. 

THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER WITH OVER 28 MILLION COPIES IN PRINT! A timeless business classic, Who Moved My Cheese? uses a simple parable to reveal profound truths about dealing with change so that you can enjoy less stress and more success in your work and in your life. It would be all so easy if you had a map to the Maze. If the same old routines worked. If they'd just stop moving "The Cheese." But things keep changing... Most people are fearful of change, both personal and professional, because they don't have any control over how or when it happens to them. Since change happens either to the individual or by the individual, Dr. Spencer Johnson, the coauthor of the multimillion bestseller The One Minute Manager, uses a deceptively simple story to show that when it comes to living in a rapidly changing world, what matters most is your attitude. Exploring a simple way to take the fear and anxiety out of managing the future, Who Moved My Cheese? can help you discover how to anticipate, acknowledge, and accept change in order to have a positive impact on your job, your relationships, and every aspect of your life.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

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Learning & Education

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Books

THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER WITH OVER 28 MILLION COPIES IN PRINT! A timeless business classic, Who Moved My Cheese? uses a simple parable to reveal profound truths about dealing with change so that you can enjoy less stress and more success in your work and in your life. It would be all so easy if you had a map to the Maze. If the same old routines worked. If they'd just stop moving "The Cheese." But things keep changing... Most people are fearful of change, both personal and professional, because they don't have any control over how or when it happens to them. Since change happens either to the individual or by the individual, Dr. Spencer Johnson, the coauthor of the multimillion bestseller The One Minute Manager, uses a deceptively simple story to show that when it comes to living in a rapidly changing world, what matters most is your attitude. Exploring a simple way to take the fear and anxiety out of managing the future, Who Moved My Cheese? can help you discover how to anticipate, acknowledge, and accept change in order to have a positive impact on your job, your relationships, and every aspect of your life.

Spencer Johnson, M.D. left behind a medical career to write short books about life. The most famous was “Who Moved My Cheese?" published in 1998. The book became a publishing phenomenon and a workplace manual. Over 50 million copies of Spencer Johnson’s books are in use worldwide in 47 languages.Dr. Johnson's education included a psychology degree from the University of Southern California, a M.D. from the Royal College of Surgeons and medical clerkships at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic.

- ROBERT BURNS (1759-1796)

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