Were you successful in 2020?
The people who were the most successful in 2020, and those who were not, remind me of a story I read in a book called Who Moved My Cheese.
The book Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson is a great book that people of all ages can read to help understand life lessons to be learned through embracing change.
This book was given to me by my mentor, Angela, in 2005 when I was 19 years old. This book helped me to embrace change at the beginning of my career. The lessons in this book helped me achieve success and taught me to always explore new opportunities for growth.
FROM THE BACK OF THE BOOK:
Who Moved My Cheese? Is a simple parable that reveals profound truths. It is an amusing and enlightening story of four characters who live in a maze and look for cheese to nourish them and make them happy.
Cheese is a metaphor for what you want to have in life- whether it is a good job, a loving relationship, money or possession, health or spiritual peace of mind.
And the maze is where you look for what you want- the organization you work in, or the family or community you live.
This profound book from bestselling author, Dr. Spencer Johnson, will show you how to:
Anticipate change
Adapt to change quickly
Enjoy change
Be ready to change quickly, again and again
Discover the secret for yourself and learn how to deal with change, so that you suffer less and enjoy more success in your work and in life.
Who Moved My Cheese is a very simple and fast read. You can read the entire book in less than an hour, so I’m going to make this summary quick.
The story is about two mice named Sniff and Scurry, and two little people the size of mice named Hem and Haw who lived in a maze and looked for cheese everyday. One day they find a lifetime supply of cheese. The little people decide to stop searching for new cheese because they think the large cheese supply will last forever, but the mice Sniff & Scurry continue to look for new cheese everyday.
One day the little people, Hem & Haw notice all of the cheese was gone, and so were the mice. While the little people Hem & Haw stayed put enjoying their cheese, the mice Sniff & Scurry found an even larger supply of cheese.
The little people Hem & Haw couldn’t believe all of their cheese was gone. They thought if they just waited long enough the cheese would come back.
Eventually Haw figured out that the cheese wasn't going to come back and that he needed to go look for new cheese. Hem didn’t want to look for new cheese so he stayed put while Haw went to look for new cheese.
In the end, Haw found the mice and a new larger supply of cheese.
During the story Hem & Haw wrote down lessons they learned about “cheese” on the walls of the maze.
Here are a few things they wrote down:
1. Old Beliefs Do Not Lead You To New Cheese.
2. The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Find New Cheese.
3. Movement In A New Direction Helps You Find New Cheese.
4. If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct.
At the end of the story, Haw noticed that the lessons Hem and he wrote down were all lessons for finding “new cheese”!
Haw wanted Hem to find the new cheese too so he summed up all their sayings and wrote down what he learned to try and help Hem find his way to the new cheese.
Here is what Haw wrote for Hem:
1. Change Happens- They keep moving the cheese.
2. Anticipate Change- Get ready for the cheese to move.
3. Monitor Change- Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old.
4. Adapt To Change Quickly- The quicker you can let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese.
5. Change- Move with the cheese.
6. Enjoy Change- Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese.
7. Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again & Again- They Keep Moving The Cheese.
The successful people in 2020 were like the mice Sniff & Scurry and noticed they needed to change before everyone else and took action asap. The unsuccessful people were like the little people Hem & Haw who didn't want to change and wanted to wait for things to go back to the way they were.
The moral of this story is change is enviable. The faster you can adapt to change the more successful you will be in life.
Are you someone who doesn’t like change? Can you relate with the little people Hem & Haw?
Making a change is really hard! The way I deal with change is like Sniff & Scurry, I try to look for new ways to change. How I do that is by trying lots of new things.
Each year I make a list of new things that I want to do. My list consists of new places to explore, new activities to try and new books to read. I type up my list of new things to try and I put it in the middle of my vision board. My list inspires me to try new things and encourages me to grow!
I hope this post will encourage you to embrace change for 2021!
If you want to read the full story of Hem & Haw and Sniff & Scurry please get the book
Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson! Its a fast read (about an hour).