Who Moved My Cheese? written by Spencer Johnson, M.D., co-author of The One Minute Manager, is a #1 bestseller. It’s an a-mazing way to deal with change in your work and life.
The book is a parable that reveals truths for dealing with change. I read it a few years ago and re-read it this weekend. It has simple and clear principles we all need…especially in today’s ‘changing’ environment.
“Cheese” is a metaphor for what you may want in life: whether it’s a job, relationship, health, business, or…
The lessons from the parable are:
Change Happens – they keep moving the cheese.
Anticipate Change – get ready for the cheese to move.
Monitor Change – smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old.
Adapt To Change Quickly – the quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese.
Change – move with the cheese.
Enjoy Change! – savor the adventure and the taste of the new cheese!
Be Ready to Quickly Change Again and Again – they keep moving the cheese.
Here are four quotes from the book that challenged me:
“The biggest inhibitor to change lies within yourself, and that nothing goes better until you change.”
“The more important your cheese is to you, the more you want to hold onto it.”
“If you do not change, you can become extinct.”
“What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Sometimes fear can be good. When you are afraid things are going to get worse if you don’t do something, it can prompt you into action. But it is not good when you are so afraid that it keeps you from doing anything. Haw (one of the characters) realized he had been held captive by his own fear. Moving in a new direction had freed him.”
This book was also recommended by David Clarke, Co-Founder of BGT Partners, a recent guest on the Live Passionately! blog radio show. (Listen to the show).
Take the couple of hours to read Who Moved My Cheese? and make a decision to create the change needed in your business.
Live Passionately!
John
