Who Moved My Cheese? Book Summary

Who Moved My Cheese?
Book Summary
By Dr. Spencer Johnson
No. Of Pages: 94 pages
Summary by Sayed Almoosawi
Began writing the summary on Sunday, February 14, 2021
Done writing the summary on Sunday, March 7, 2021
WMMC? BOOK SUMMARY 1

A little bit about the writer
Who is Spencer Johnson?
Spencer Johnson was born in November 24, 1938 in Watertown, South Dakota, US.
He died in July 3, 2017 at the age of 78.
Dr. Spencer was a physician and an author. He was well-known for his series of
children books ValueTales, and the book we are summarizing today, “Who Moved My
Cheese?” which appeared on New York Times Bestseller list for so many years. He was also
known for his series of books “The One Minute Manager” that he co-authored with Ken
Blanchard.
Dr. Spencer Johnson is a worldwide known writer. His books have been translated into
more than twenty five languages. His many books was known to lead people into selfimprovement
and self-development.
A little bit about the book
The story was created by Dr. Spencer to help him deal with the change he was dealing
with in his life. And when his friends noticed how he changed and how his life became much
better, they asked him about his secret and he told them about the story he created, the story
of “Who Moved My Cheese?”. After that his friend and co-author of The One Minute
Manager, Kenneth Blanched, Ph.D., convinced him that he should write that story in a book
and publish it, so that many people can benefit from it. So he did.
After twenty years of creating the story, the book was finally published and became
the number one international bestseller. More than one million copies have been sold in 16
months and 10 million copies in the following two years! And now they have exceeded 21
million copies.
Some people have found this book very helpful, and some have found it very simple
and just obvious common sense. And the writer commented that it is how you interrupt the
story and apply it to your own life that give it value.
The Summary
The wheel of life never stops, and it tends to change rapidly, and no one has control
over it. Either we accept, adapt and live with that change. Or deny it, live wretched, shed
tears and mourn.
WMMC? BOOK SUMMARY 2

When we were kids we thought that life was simple and easy. We never thought that it
will eventually change, that we will have responsibilities and that we will have to take care of
ourselves. Then we grew up to find out that changes happen and that we have to adapt and
accept those changes and move on. Develop and improve so we can get through life.
When we start to see change happening in our lives we tend to fear and be scared of
what might happen next, and that is why we resist change and never accept it.
An example the book gives about a guy who sees change happening in his business
and he never adapts to that change, he almost lost his business.
The Story
The writer starts his book by introducing four main characters. Sniff and Scurry the
two mice, Hem and Haw the two Littlepeople.
Sniff, is the one who sniffs out the change early. Scurry, who acts fast whenever a
change occurs. Hem, who tries to ignore change and resist because he thinks it will lead to
something worse. Haw, who accepts change and try to adapt and overcome his fears believing
that change will lead to something better.
He then introduces two more elements of the story which are Cheese and the Maze.
The Cheese representing our desires in life and things we want to achieve. And the maze as
the way or the route we take, and the time we spend during our life to accomplish things and
acquire our desires.
So for example cheese can be a job we would like to get, or a relationship we would
like to have, a lovely house, money, freedom, good health, peace of mind, or even an activity
like running or playing soccer.
Everyone has their own idea of what cheese is, and they seek every opportunity to
have it. Whenever they have it, they get attached to it, and if it was taken from them they
would be traumatized and live in pain thinking it was their only choice and that there is no
way they can live without it.
An important thing to note about the four characters is that Sniff and Scurry were
just mice, so they think and act in a very simple way using their simple brains. They used the
trail and error method in finding their cheese through out the maze. In the opposite, the two
Littlepeople, Hem and Haw, were two little sized humans who used their complex brains, in
addition to their emotions and beliefs into finding their way to cheese. It is good to know that
their emotions and beliefs played an important role into shading them away from finding
their cheese.
The maze was constructed of many passageways and doors. Dark corners and dead
ends that leads to nowhere. It was easy for anyone to get lost in it.
They say that this story have improved so many marriages, careers and lives!
WMMC? BOOK SUMMARY 3

Summarizing by Characters
Each and every character in the story had their own cheese. They were all happy and
settled at cheese station C, where it had all the kinds of cheese they ever wanted and dreamed
of. But you know how life is, nothing lasts forever. So over time the cheese supply was slowly
running out until there was no more cheese. Some noticed the change that was happening,
and some did not. So not everyone was ready for that change.
Sniff
Sniff, was the one who sniffed out the change early. He was seeing it coming and he
was prepared, so when the cheese ran out he was already back in the maze looking for his
new yummy cheese.
Scurry
Scurry, was the second to see the change. But the good thing about him that he
scurries into taking actions. He does not wait for too long. He acts, and he acts fast. So it did
not take him long to get back into the maze with Sniff and start looking for his new cheese.
( Sniff and Scurry were the first to adapt so they found their new cheese with no delays)
It took Sniff and Scurry a while to find their new cheese but after running around and
hitting dead ends and empty stations, they have finally found their new cheese. A huge Station
full of new cheese. It was Cheese Station N. They have never seen that much of cheese in
their whole lives with a variety of types and choices.
Hem
Hem was so comfortable with his status at Cheese Station C, that he did not notice
any of the changes that were happening around him. So when the cheese supply ran out, and
while Sniff and Scurry were already in the maze looking for their new cheese, Hem and Haw
were still traumatized of what have happened to them, and were thinking, why such a thing
would happen to them? They thought that they were entitled and something like that should
never happen to them.
Hem decided to stay at Cheese station C and wait for things to get better and had
hope that Cheese will somehow show up again at Cheese Station C. He did not change. He
preferred to stay as is.
WMMC? BOOK SUMMARY 4

Haw
Just like Hem, Haw got too comfortable at Cheese Station C and when he found out
about the changes, he panicked and had a dramatic reaction to what have happened. But
unlike Hem, Haw made some sense of himself and laughed at what he was doing, and
realized that staying at Cheese Station C would not change anything, and if he had gotten
himself back into the maze earlier, he would have had found his new cheese already.
So he got up, tied up his shoes and got back into the maze. He was surrounded by his
fears. The fear of the unknown. The fear of what the maze was hiding for him. But he
believed that it is better to start looking for new cheese than staying where he was.
Moving On!
Haw believed that there was a magic in forgetting the past and moving on. He felt it
immediately as he started running through the maze. Then he started asking himself “What
Would I Do If I Weren’t Afraid?”. He kept asking himself the same question over and over
and whenever he felt discouraged, tired or afraid, or whenever he was about to lose hope.
“Think of the things you will be capable of doing when you have no fear. It is the fear
that makes you incapable of achieving things.”. He also kept imagining himself enjoying his
new cheese, and that encouraged and strengthened him to keep moving on and not quitting.
Haw realized that fear can be good in some cases as it keeps him from doing
ridiculous and dangerous things, but it can also keep him from moving on and getting what
he wants. So whenever a fearful thought came to his mind, he used to laugh at himself to let
go of his stress, and the fearful thoughts he had.
Happy Thoughts!
Another amazing strategy he used is to think about what he could gain rather than
thinking about what he could lose. Thinking of change as something that could lead to
something better than thinking of change as something that could lead to something worse.
Remember when people tell us to look at the bright side? Yes, exactly, look at the
bright side! You will move on, be free, and feel happy! Do not hold yourself captive by your
own fears.
We are so used to think about what could go wrong than what could go right! And
that is absolutely ridiculous as it keeps us from going out and trying to change ourselves.
Believe!
“When you change what you believe, you change what you do.”. (Johnson, 1998,
P.65). It all starts with you! You need to be willing to change. You need to be willing to take
that step forward. And to do that you need to have an image in your mind of what will
happen when you change. Haw kept imagining himself enjoying his new cheese, and that
WMMC? BOOK SUMMARY 5

gave him the push to change and take the risk of going back into the maze. He believed that
things will get better and staying at that cheeseless station would not do him any good.
When Haw saw how change could make things better, he got more interested in
making that change and getting out of that cheeseless station.
A Happy Ending!
Haw thought a couple of times during his journey of his friends, Sniff and Scurry,
and wondered where would they be? And after a couple of days of running through the maze
and hitting dead ends and empty stations here and there, Haw had finally found new cheese
at Cheese Station N! A huge pile of cheese that he had never seen like before! A great supply
of cheese that could last him for a long long time!
He was very happy. He saw how his dedication to finding his new cheese had finally
paid off. He finally saw how moving with his cheese, letting go of the past, and adapting to
change have made him happy again. Unlike Hem who is still at Cheese Station C mourning
and hemming at his situation.
Lessons He Learned!
• He learned how fool he was for not letting go of the past and moving on.
• He learned to keep things simple and never overcomplicate the situation again.
• He learned to be flexible and move with the cheese whenever he had to.
• He learned to move quickly. The sooner he moves on, the sooner he gets his new cheese.
• He learned to keep an eye open and notice the change early and before it happens.
• He learned that cheese keeps on moving, so he always has to be ready!
Real life applications
Here I will give a couple of real life examples from the book so you can relate.
“If you have been doing something successfully for so long, that does not
mean that it will last forever.”
Nathan who had a chain of small stores suddenly had to compete with a huge mega
store who opened recently in town. He could not compete with their massive inventory and
low prices.
A couple of months ago he saw that the change was about to happen but he did not
react and did not take any actions. Instead he just hoped that it would not affect him or his
business. Now he had to close a couple of his stores. This all happened because he ignored
the change that was happening and he was too afraid to face it. Nathan wished if he had sold
WMMC? BOOK SUMMARY 6

all of his small stores at the time so he could buy a huge store to compete with the one that
opened recently in his town.
Another example from the book is Michael. He realized how his company needed to
be leaded into the right direction of finding new cheese, so he decided to give a copy of the
book to everyone in their company. After everyone had read the book, he had found that they
had all of the four different characters in their company. So he decided to treat each and
everyone differently. Sniffs, who can sniff out change would be great at finding how the
marketplace is changing and seeing what the customers need, so the company can come up
with new products for them. Sniffs were happy with their new position and were excited to be
finding new cheese for their company.
Scurries on the other hand were those who loved to get things done. So he gave them
the opportunity to take actions for the company but with him monitoring them, just to make
sure that they do not take any wrong actions.
Now Hems were those who slowed them down and were weighing them heavily that
they could not have them anymore, so he had to let them go. In contrast, they welcomed
Haws with open arms giving them the opportunity to dive into change after they have
realized how the vision the company drew will lead to great success.
“When you see how change can make things better, you get more interested in making that
change happen”
The last example I am going to give is a personal life example. Changing in a bad
relationship does not mean that you have to let go of that relationship, maybe you need to let
go of your old behaviors and start thinking and acting in a better way!
Conclusion
To conclude I would like to leave you with these last tips:
Be aware of changes as they come.
Accept the change and move and adapt quickly.
Always ask yourself “What Would I do If I weren’t Afraid?”.
Look at change as something good.
Enjoy the change.
The end.
WMMC? BOOK SUMMARY 7