After reading How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and putting its timeless principles of communication and relationships into practice, I still found myself wondering—“Is this really enough? Isn’t there a universal rule I need to truly grow and move forward in life?”
With this lingering feeling, I finally picked up a book that had always caught my eye: Spencer Johnson’s “Who Moved My Cheese?”
In an Era Where Those Who Can’t Change, Lose Out
This book masterfully illustrates a truth about our modern world: your ability to adapt to change can make or break your life.
The story is deceptively simple, but by the time you reach the end, it hits you hard. Why? Because every character in the story represents a part of ourselves.
The Main Characters
- Sniff and Scurry: Two mice who act on instinct, always quick to adapt and move forward.
- Hem and Haw: Two little people who overthink everything and get stuck in fear.
They all search for what matters most in life—their cheese—in a massive maze.
At last, they find a mountain of cheese. But one day, it suddenly disappears.
How Do We Face Change?
From here, the four characters take very different paths:
- The mice act immediately: “No cheese? Time to search for the next one!”
- The little people, meanwhile, are paralyzed—“The cheese will come back… Why is this happening to me?”—and stay stuck in the same place.
But eventually, Haw realizes, “If nothing changes, nothing changes,” overcomes his fear, and takes that crucial first step.
At the end of a new maze, he discovers new cheese.
Hem, on the other hand, refuses to change, and the story leaves his fate uncertain.
The Moment I Realized—I’m “A Haw”
Honestly, I saw myself in Haw.
Whenever my environment or job changed, I’d always feel safer sticking to what I knew, worrying about what might go wrong if I tried something new.
But this book gave me a nudge: Change isn’t something to fear—it’s the biggest opportunity you’ll ever get!
There’s a world of difference between someone who clings to the status quo and someone brave enough to take that first step.
That’s the core message of “Who Moved My Cheese?”—and it’s truly life-altering.
Lessons for Teams, Families, and Every Relationship
The book’s final part is a discussion among old classmates, showing just how universal this parable is.
You realize it applies not just to you, but to your team at work, your family, your closest partner.
A family or organization that adapts and searches together for “new cheese” will always keep growing—never stuck, never left behind.
In a world of constant change, flexibility is your greatest superpower.
To Everyone Who Wants to Move Forward
Let’s be honest: some people might read this book and not feel a thing.
But if you’ve ever thought “I’m not satisfied with where I am now,” “I want to move forward in life,” or “I want to change but I just can’t take the first step”—you owe it to yourself to read this.
Where is your cheese right now?
And what’s the cheese you truly want to find?
This book will give you the courage to meet a “new you” waiting just beyond fear and uncertainty.
Change isn’t scary—it’s the greatest gift you can give yourself.
That’s what you’ll feel after reading “Who Moved My Cheese?”
If you’re feeling stuck, this is your sign:
Take that step. Seek out your new cheese. The journey to your best self starts now!
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