By Dr Spencer Johnson, Foreword by Kenneth Blanchard Ph-D
The story behind the story of “Who Moved My Cheese”:
I first came across “Who Moved My Cheese?” during a rough time in my life. I had just quit after five years in the job and was finding it hard to cope with the change in my routine. The title grabbed my attention, but it was only after I read the book that it made total sense to me since I did feel that someone “moved my cheese”.
The book is made up of three parts: The first is the discussion in which a group of students were sitting together and discussing their lives after a reunion. They all state that they have been struggling with change and that leads one of them to tell a story that he claims will help them all.
The second part is the actual fable and it tells the story of 4 characters, two of them were mice and the other two were littlepeople (the size of mice). The story goes on to show how each one of them reacts to a certain situation in which sudden change was introduced.
“Who Moved My Cheese” takes place in a maze where these four characters are searching for “Cheese”; cheese being a metaphor for what each person wants in life. The maze being where the person spends time looking for what he wants.
The last part of the book is a discussion between the former students about the story itself and how it made them feel about their lives. They would point out which one of the four characters they were in their lives and figure out what they need to change in the way they are living.
This book is enjoyable and easy to read. It might seem like a simple kid’s fable but you will start to realize its depth as you go on reading.
