Who Moved My Cheese! Don't be afraid of Change

[Dan Holt]

"Who Moved My Cheese" A story written by Spencer Johnson is a short 100 page book roughly but with quite one great message. A recommendation to all who are looking for change in there life but are afraid of the outcomes. I read this book and not necessarily because of being afraid of change but more so of some of the responsibilities that I currently have and how change could affect them. The story goes, the stage is a maze with many corridors and turns and the players are two mice and two small people small enough to be inside the maze. Well, in order to live, both the mice and small people must search the maze for cheese. So, one day both the mice and little people found a large amount of cheese in one corridor of the maze and they all were excited and happy and felt relieved and comfortable. So, days went by and each day they would go to the same spot and eat there cheese but one day came and the little people noticed that the mice had not come. They wondered for a moment and then just did what they did the day before and ate there cheese. Little did they know that the mice knew that the cheese was slowly getting low and decided to hunt down some new cheese. So, a few day's later the little people came back to that same spot and found that all the cheese was gone. They were perplexed and weren't sure what to do. They sat and decided that eventually the cheese would come back. Never did. They thought well, maybe tomorrow. So, they came back the next day and wouldn't you know it, NO cheese. So now they were very frustrated and couldn't understand why the cheese wasn't there. Why was this happening to them, they thought. It isn't fare. They became so comfortable with the fact that the cheese was there day in and day out that they didn't even notice that it was slowly dwindling away or even that the cheese was there for so long that it even may have been growing mold and now they are in the position they are in. So, one day, one of the little people decided that the cheese wasn't gonna come back and that he needed to do something about it and find the cheese again. The other person though, decided that he shouldn't have to do that and that the cheese should come to him. So, as much as the one tried to convince the other to do the same and help him find the cheese, he refused. Onward he went then from corridor to corridor, sometimes getting lost along the way but stepping back and trying a new way. He never gave up. Finally, He came across the two mice and an even bigger pile of cheese than before and he was so excited and relieved. He dug into some cheese because he was so hungry and took a moment and thought that he wished his buddy would have come along as well. While he set off on his own, he wrote messages on the walls to hopefully guide his buddy just in case he decided to CHANGE his ways and look for new cheese. Some of these writings on the wall were " Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old", "Movement in a new direction helps you find the cheese", "Imagining yourself enjoying your new cheese leads you to it", "The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese", and "It is safer to search in the maze, than remain in a cheeseless situation". Read the book theres more and this is just the cliff notes I'm writing to you.

I wrote this here because I'm in this situation. I think that my cheese is getting old and I'm really excited to change and find my new cheese. I had an absolutely wonderful and soulful last four day's at the MGFest09 and an inspiring time specifically Saturday night at Pixel Bros. Both the tour of the studio and the thought provoking installations on the fourth floor. I've been wanting to transition from Print design to Motion Graphics and video editing for some time now but I've been comfortable with the routine and taking care of responsibilities through those means, but, I haven't been absolutely excited and happy about it. I'm passionate about this transition and this last week has refreshed and revitalized my thinking. I'm gonna do what it takes to make my transition as well as surround myself with the necessary people that can help me grow and enrich creatively and soulfully.

To everyone else. Pick up this book. It's good to have to keep you on your game and reaching for a better and more enriched you in whatever way that is. If your like me and looking to transition from one thing to another, make the necessary steps to do it now and don't give up. If the cheese is old, get going to find the new cheese and if you find yourself down a wrong corridor, find a new passage to get you to your goal.

Dan