personal finance

If you or your organization fears or resists change, then this short and simple book may just help lead you and your organization to learn to embrace change. George Bernard Shaw once observed, 'Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius.' My instincts tell me this book was much closer to being genius than it was to just being overly simple common sense.

Johnson's clever and insightful story is about two mice ('Sniff,' who sniffs out change early, and 'Scurry,' who quickly scurries into action) and two 'little people' ('Hem,' who denies and resists change for fear of something worse, and 'Haw,' who adapts over time when he realizes change can lead to something better) who live in a maze and how they deal with the realities of unexpected changes in the location and quantity of their cheese supply. Each character represents an easy to recognize, common, stereotypical person with a common approach to changes in life. The cheese represents what a person wants in life (e.g. health, money, a good job, a strong relationship, peace of mind, etc.).

This book was an original and light-hearted approach to the complex and anxiety-filled subject of changes in life. Subtle yet powerful messages were expertly woven into the story and led me to pause, reflect on, and identify with the characters and their actions.

Johnson's style is not for everyone. If you have read any of his previous books, you will not want to miss this one. If you have never read any of Johnson's books, you may as well start with this one -- it may help change your life.

Spencer Johnson uses a simplistic story of 2 mice and 2 mouse-sized little guys to remind us of what the Buddhist have harped at for centuries: the impermanent nature of life. You "read the last chapter first" and "One Minute Manager" folks can get the essence of the message with the 7 points on page 74. Everybody else should read the whole book (with big print and 94 small pages, it ain't War and Peace, people) and turn in your 1000-word essay on how the message applies to your life by next Friday.

After charging through the book on a Sunday morning, I thought "I KNEW all that!" but it was a cute way of reminding me to review the book's vital message about my attitude towards the constant changes life throws at me again.

List price of $19.95 is pretty steep, so if you're a Cheap Charlie or Pennypinching Penelope, borrow this from a friend or the library, read it once, and make a poster of the seven points for the bathroom mirror (it's cheating to just rip out page 74). Otherwise, buy the book to reread for a quick boost for those times life kicks you in the butt.

Some people just don't get "Who Moved My Cheese?" This is prefectly acceptable, because it will not work for everybody. Just like biblical parables, it is often interpreted in different ways. If you have not read it, I suggest that you give it a chance.

I first encountered the book in graduate school and enjoyed it a great deal. Only recently, has my cheese been moved. Although prepared for my cheese to be moved, I find myself looking for my new cheese. The theme of the book deals with the adjustments or adaptations we must make in our lives periodically. All facets of life are really based in social darwinism, or survival of the fittest. While you may not like the book, you must agree that adaptation is the key to success and satisfaction in life.