Title/Author: Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson
Reason for Reading: Recommended by coworker
Pre-thought: I was having problems getting opportunities at my workplace so one of my coworkers recommended this book to me to help me out and I was interested to see what type of wisdom and advice it would offer me.
Recap of Book: For every person who has felt like they were taken advantage of in the workplace and not given opportunities that others got. For every person who felt like they busted their butt to advance in the company and got overlooked by management, bosses, or failed to be recognized by anyone. This simple parable will reveal to you some of the greatest advice you can live by.
The book features two mice and two "little people" who are similar to humans trapped in a maze and need cheese to survive. The maze that they run through represents life and the dead ends and challenges you face along the way. Even more specific, you can interpret the maze as an organization or a single challenge in your life that you are having problems overcoming. This book delivers a powerful message but the message is completely dependant upon how the person who is reading it interprets it.
The book will describe how two of the characters come upon this vast mountain of cheese. They setup, in essence, a camp at the spot and become lazy thinking that everyday they wake up the cheese will always be there. And it was always there, for awhile, until one day they woke up and the cheese wasn't there. They are shocked and in disbelief and wait around expecting the cheese to come back while the other two characters head off to look for more cheese. Cheese is the representation of that job you always wanted, that raise that never happened, that opportunity you didn't get, or anything you wanted and hasn't come to you. Every character in this book has their own personification or personality and handles things differently but they are all similar to how real people act on a daily basis to these type of problems.
Basically, cheese is always on the move, and the best cheese is reserved for those who are ready to go out and look for it. It's for those who can accept and adapt to change and find it when they need it but never take it for granted when it's gone. If you don't have the ambition or adaptability to go get that new job, go out and take that new promotion, go and get that raise; then you will never be at peace on the inside and will always blame others for not recognizing you or giving you what you deserve. Cheese does not come to you very often and you must go get it.
Interesting Points: The use of cheese and the mentalities represented by each of the characters individually when change happens is a very accurate depiction of how people really act. Cheese is earned, not given.
Recommended Audience: I recommend this book to anyone who wants to hear an inspiring parable to help them find their cheese in life, whatever that may be.
After-thought: This book gave me a lot of insight and helped me to stop blaming people for things that didn't happen and instead look inside myself for the answers.