Who moved my cheese by Spenser Johnson

Review by: Adeagbo Seun.

Who moved my cheese by Spenser Johnson is one of the Life changing books I have ever read. It is a mini story like book of about 150 pages which one can finish in less than 3hrs and the impact is Life long, and I thought it well to share some vital Life lessons I learnt while reading the book. I first read the book in 2003 which I have read so many times.

The story is about four characters, Scurry and sniff are the mice, while the hem and haw is the little people. They face unexpected change when they discover their "Cheese" has disappeared .Each character behaves differently and responds to situation differently. Some of us act like exactly the way each of the character behaves. It is either you are a sniff, scurry, hem or haw.

Sniff- He sniffs out change early.

Scurry- Scurries into action.

Hem- He denies and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse.

Haw-He learns to adapt on time when he sees changing can lead to something better.

CHEESE represent what we want or desire in life which could be a job, money, house, wealth, health, relationship and so on. Everyman desire to have a cheese. We need it because our happiness depends on it. Most times, cheese are not always where we think it should be, so we have to be determine to move ahead and take a new approach to look for it.

MAZE represent where one looking for what we want in life i.e. the CHEESE. Maze could also represent Life. We each live in a "Maze", a metaphor for the companies or organizations we work with, the communities we live in, the families we love places where we look for the things we want in life, In as much as everyman desire a cheese, it must be look for so as to get the good things of life which brings happiness and fulfillment


And how we look and where to get our cheese are different. Each individual determine the cheese he is looking for and where to find it. Failure to get our cheese in life could lead to frustration. Our character most times help us to locate on time where to get the cheese. When we get our cheese on time, we are refers to as been lucky or favour.

Like sniff and scurry in the story, they were able to locate the new cheese station ahead of others. But unfortunately for hem because of his character and attitude,it was difficult for him to locate the new CHEESE STATION. I pray that will not be our portion in the journey of life.

I need to quickly share 6 lessons I learnt while reading this life transforming book.

LESSON 1-HAVING A CHEESE MAKES YOU HAPPY.

LESSON2 – IF YOU DO NOT CHANGE, YOU CAN BECOME EXTINCT.

LESSON 3- OLD BELIEFS DO NOT LEAD ONE TO FIND NEW CHEESE.

LESSON 4- IT IS NATURAL FOR CHANGE TO CONTINUALLY OCCUR, WHEATHER YOU EXPECT IT OR NOT.

LESSON 5-WHEN YOU CHANGE WHAT YOU BELIEVE, YOU CHANGE WHAT YOU DO.

LESSON 6- LET GO OF THE PAST AND ADAPT TO THE PRESENT.

Above all, I highly recommend this book for you, this is one book that will help you to adapt to change ,with =N=500 or less you can get a copy, and I bet it with you ,it will give you a new approach in life to develop a positive change attitude to get the next cheese you desire in life.

You may be asking, who moved my cheese? Oh it is no more there, While asking, you have got to move ahead to locate it.

The review: Why men love Bitches- by Sherry Argov

First off-- don't be put off by the title.

A bitch in this book is an "endearing word for a woman who is polite but communicates directly with a man as humans do...". Yeah, I stayed awake most of the night reading "Why men love Bitches". I was fascinated by the synopsis and reviews... and when I finally read it...I was blown away (not literary). I said to myself, if this is a manual of how things ought to be, then some of us are in big trouble... Honestly, I find the ideas very interesting and most of the points raised made a lot of sense.

However, I do not entirely agree that we should start changing who we are because some men prefer it when we are the "hot chase" and they the hot chasers.

Why, maybe it is about time someone flip the coin over and tell the story differently-- women should not always be the ones to bend-over and change their skin to be accepted. If a man cannot accept a nice sensible girl then let him keep chasing the bitches. Oh well, the book is not asking women to bend-over or change their skin at all!

I like how Argov define the term Bitch:
Bitch (noun)- A woman who won't bang her head against the wall obsessing over someone else's opinion--be it a man or anyone else in her life. She understands that if someone does not approve of her, it's just one person's opinion; therefore, it's of no real importance. she doesn't try to live up to anyone else's standards- only her own. Because of this she relates to man very differently.

She gave about twenty-seven (27) principles on how to rise from being a doormat to a dream girl-- My favourite include: "If you tell him you are not interested in jumping into a relationship with both feet, he will set out to try to change your mind". Have you met these kind of women chasers? The moment they hear one is not interested they don't relent until they win you over-- and God help you on how you decide to handle it, the "nice girl" way or the "Bitch" aura. The author explains the difference between the two.

Also, "If the choice is between her dignity and having a relationship, the bitch will prioritize her dignity above all else" ....in a nutshell, don't spend your time obsessing or fretting over a man... "act like a prize and you'll turn him into a believer"

"A bitch gives a man plenty of space so he doesn't fear being trapped in a cage. Then... he set out to trap her in his".

"Every man wants to have sex first; whether he wants a girlfriend is something he thinks about later. By not giving him what he wants upfront, you become his girlfriend without him realizing it" And after giving him sex, he would just let himself chase after the next hottie on the block...

"Anytime a woman competes with another woman, she demeans herself..." Is that true ladies out there?

"Why men love bitches" is not just a book filled with dos and don'ts. I appreciate how the author backs each point up with a good illustration/real stories readers can connect to. This made me buy a copy of the book as a birthday gift for a friend, with the hope that she will learn the lessons worth learning from it before she launch into her first relationship. I am not recommending that we follow all the rules in the book religiously, just read, understand and learn from the real life stories shared. As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher, this include learning from the experiences of others.

One of my friends, while signing a book he got me for my birthday wrote "...grow more to be a Proverbs 31 woman NOT a BITCH!!!" I would have expected him to admit that men really love Bitches.

Another man, after reading the book, wrote on Amazon.com: "As a man who read this book, I have a new understanding of how and why my last girlfriend acted the way she did. She must have read this book! I have to say, I chased after her, just like the book says a man will do if you follow the rules it describes. But, (and this is a big BUT), eventually, I got tired of chasing her. Eventually I came to the huge realization that I didn't want to live the rest of my life this way, under her thumb, with her making all the rules for our relationship. Women have put up with men that act this way, and it drives you crazy, doesn't it? Don't you hate it when a guy doesn't call and acts like other things are more important than you are? This book could just as well have been written for men, and been titled, "Why Women Love Jerks'...if everyone, men and women alike, followed the rules contained in it, this world would be full of a lot of single people."

The book teaches that women should stop obsessing over men. It also teaches the importance of being strong and independent...em...em...but not arrogant? :) The author reaffirmed the need for women never to feel threatened by the "beauty" of other women-- competing diminishes your value before a man.

Go ahead, buy a copy of the book. Whether you choose to remain the "Bitch" or "The nice girl" after reading the book, learn to maintain a good sense of humor, liberate your soul and treat your body like a temple.

I love Natasha Bedingfield's song "Say it again" But reading "Why men love Bitches" and listening to the song... makes my stomach tie in a knot! Oh the joy or pain of womanhood!

NATASHA BEDINGFIELD LYRICS

"Say It Again"

No need to translate,
'cause my eyes give me away,
Even though my lips don't say..

This should be so easy,
But my head gets in the way,
All the things that I want to tell you.

You're the most perfect yet,
Most definitely that i've met,
And I wonder if you know that's how I feel about you.
I hope you know..

'cause I have so much love for you.
Do with it what you will..
And I have nothing more to prove,
Say to me what you will..
Say, say it again.

Not enough lovers in life to go around
But there's you and me,
If we don't start it out.. mmmm..
It's not hard to let go
Enough to let me in.
If it's meant to be,
It can only be good.

You're the most perfect fit,
Most definitely that i've met,
And I hope that you feel the same way too
About me.. just let me know..

'cause I have so much love for you,
Do with it what you will..
And I have nothing more to prove.
Say to me what you will..
Say, say it again..

Can you take it from me?
If I give, can you receive?
I'm reaching out,
Giving everything.
I give you my heart, I give you my soul,
I give you it all..

'cause I have so much love for you,
Do with it what you will..
And I have nothing more to prove.
Say to me what you will..
Say, say it again..

Dead Aid: By Dambisa Moyo

Reading the Onion...

I used to be an avid reader of the Onion. I find their story very interesting. And yeah, I believed every story I read there too when I first moved to D.C. for Atlas Fellowship. Until I read one edition that featured a story about President Obama cursing at some teenage girls. I was horrified. “How is this possible?” I asked my colleagues. It was then I was saved from my ignorance. One of my colleagues told me that it was a not real… the content of the newspaper was all a joke.

Important and news worthy events are riddle with unusual humorous writing style-the Onion drips with sarcasm in every of its report. The stories are not for the faint heart. No wonder they state it on their website that the newspaper is not intended for people under 18years old...you have to be mature enough to digest the content right. As Cuthbert Zweibel, VP of Client Relations of The Onion explained in his PR release: “… please keep in mind that the Onion is not like other newspapers. We do not bow to ignorant and self-righteous notions of censorship. We don't knuckle under to pressure from the community unless it is sufficiently profitable. In short, we refuse to be manipulated, and we absolutely refuse to be stupid. There is also an excellent chance we harbor intense hatred for our readers.”

The Onion newspaper is “America’s finest news source”. With 2,251,643 followers on Twitter, you have no argument about how much people actually read it.

It is a newspaper for the sad eyes. When feeling depressed by CNN news burst and the almost non-stop trickles of bad news on the normal media, pick up something unusual- read a copy of the Onion newspaper and celebrate the Press Freedom in the US. But remember, you are not to fall for the stories hook, line and sinker. But allow them crack you up. As you flip from page to page, you might find tears welling up your eyes because of the ridiculousness of the stories. Like a cut onion, it will bring tears to your eyes. And yes, the copies are FREE!

P.S.
Don't substitute it for your regular news story.

The Starfish and the Spider- the book.

Is your organization a Starfish or a Spider? Or a mix of both? According to Brafman and Beckstrom in "The Starfish and the Spider", a Starfish is synonymous to an open system or a decentralized organization while a spider is synonymous to a centralized Organization.

What sets the two apart? A spider like a centralized system has a head and eight legs. When you cut the head of the spider, it dies. However, a Starfish is like a decentralized organization. It has no head. When you cut the Starfish in half, you are faced with two. If you cut one of its legs, it grows another one.


To elucidate this further, the authors describes six principles of a decentralized organization and gave examples. In highlight:
1. When attacked, a decentralized organization tends to become more open and decentralized.
2. It is easy to mistake a starfish for a spider
3. A decentralized organization is an open system. It does not have central intelligence. The intelligence is spread throughout the system and information naturally filter in at the edges, closer to where the action is.
4. The open system can easily mutate.
5. The decentralized organization sneaks up on you and grows quickly.
6. As industries become decentralized, overall profits decrease.

A centralized organization is coercive, it depends on order and hierarchy. But a decentralized organization is flat and fluid. No pyramid or hierarchy and it does not depend on central headquarters. It is a movement.

The decentralized system:

* Has no one person in charge
* No headquarters
* If you kill the head, the organization will not die.
* No clear division of the role; any and every activity is within anyone's job description.
* Units are autonomous
* Knowledge and power are distributed
* organization is flexible
* Units are self-funding
* Members are spread across and cannot be counted because of exponential growth
* The is direct communication between members.


This open system is built with a sense of trust and community by a Catalyst. Unlike the CEO who runs the centralized organization, the catalyst initiates a "circle" and fades away into the background in a decentralized organization. He lets go of leadership role and transfers ownership to the circle. He is seen as the inspiration, connector and charismatic. In the organization, relationship is built on trust and understanding. Ideology is the fuel that drives the decentralized organization.

But is one model better than the other? The author notes "It's not that open systems necessarily make better decisions. It's just that they're able to respond more quickly because each member has access to knowledge and the ability to make direct use of it."

What is setting Skype apart from AT&T? Craigslist from the traditional ad? Wikipedia from other sources? It is the starfish revolution! Any organization aiming for more creativity and exponential growth and sustainability would definitely embrace the starfish model- it is an unstoppable movement.

Reading Up-side-down

"Hey ladies. Hope you are all enjoying the beginning of your vacation time. (Some of you perhaps are just beginning to enjoy it right now). I only want to remind you all to get a hold of The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell to read for our Jan 29th training session."-- yet another book reading reminder from Atlas Corps Training Manager! Oh! I just want to crawl back to bed...but then instead I crawl into the pages of the book. We have to read it to be able to participate in the intellectual discourse during the training. No superficial contributions are celebrated.

Leaders are readers! And as An Atlas Corp Fellow training to be among the best non-profit leaders in the world, you must be willing to read-- something new! From books about non-profit management to Harvard Business Review :)

Reading a book per month, amidst the rigorous training and busy work schedule in our work placement/organizations, is not as easy as its spelling. I am excited about books, especially personal and professional development books but lately....phew! I have them all piled up on my desk...each page bleeding (not literally) for my attention.

The books we have read so far includes-- "How to change the world", "Be Bold", "Tipping Point" and "Forces for good".


David Bornstein in his book "How to change the world" gave a clear perspective in defining who is a Social Entrepreneur. He also provided an indept profile of different Social Entrepreneurs around the world doing extra ordinary things to create positive change...it projected the "best practices" worth emulating and inspired ordinary people like us to be bold and take a leap and not relent in our commitment to make a positive difference in the world. (I am yet to finish reading this book).

What does it mean to be bold? Then came the next book of the month- "Be Bold" by Echoing green- " A meaningful life will mean something different for everyone. It may mean following a lucrative career track in the for-profit world, it may mean pursuing athletic or artistic talents, or it may mean being a terrific Parent... For many, a career of service is the path to meaningful life..." Pg 12.The goal of Be Bold is to inspire you to make a powerful personal movement that will impact the world around you. The Book "Be Bold" is not just another inspiring or motivational book. Okay, I admit it will certainly get you all pumped up with a provoking but inspiring attitude after reading :)

Hmmm... what is the difference between David's "How to Change the world" and Echoing Green's "Be Bold"? While mulling over that, allow me flaunt one of my favorite book so far-- The Tipping Point!

Reading "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell was a different cup of tea. In a nutshell, the book really changed my perspective on how to view issues-- especially social issues and how change occur. Many have argued that it doesn't take one person to start a change, but if as Gladwell states, "Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do" then we now know that ideas, like viruses...starts with one person and tips....spread to others...through "The law of the few", "The stickiness factor" and "the power of context".


Tonight, I am flipping through, the last few pages I can read before tomorrow's training, "Forces for good" by Heather McLeod Grant & Leslie R. Crutchfield. For this book reading, I found it interesting doing a group-reading and discussion (before training discussion) with Paola and Masoora and then sharing an online Google document where we all input our thoughts as we made progress with the reading. (A method we must adopt each time we feel overwhelm with finding time to read).

Reading these books aint no child's play. We are expected to put the lessons we learned from each book into practice--- and so far, so good.

Atlas Corps Fellow monthly book-reading is exciting in its own way-- I look forward to receiving the next email buzz from the training manager announcing the book of the month. Step by step, putting one foot in front of the other and striving to embrace opportunities over excuses-- opportunities of imbibing the lessons learned in the books for professional development, over excuses of how little time we have to read. After all, leaders are readers ...and good time managers :)!

Hmmm...yeah, I wonder what book we will be reading next month! I hear it is "The Spider and The Starfish". Bring it on!

Oh! the title of this blog has nothing to do with my reading style. Have you ever tried reading up-side-down? It is easy ,just change your reading position if you are lying on your bed (as oppose to actually flipping your book up-side-down).

DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a book-review. Just a one-naira reflection on the adventure of a fellow in the pages of her books.

Uncommon by Tony Dungy with Nathan Whittaker

Do you have that courage to choose influence over image? Live your faith? Then you are on your way to living a life of significance! "Courage can be demonstrated by standing up to the school bully or intervening to prevent someone you don't know from being hurt. But more often than not, its the day-to-day moments of reaching down inside yourself to find the courage to stand alone that can be the toughest" Beautifully written and embroidered with such powerful quotes that will hold your interest, Tony Dungy, the former Colts' head coach, shares what it means to live a life of significance in his second book "Uncommon".

Punctuated by life teachings in the Chapters after the story of Brandon and Dallas, the author draws from his wealth of experience to explain the importance of developing the core- character; Honesty and Integrity; Humility and Stewardship; and Courage. Here, we are reminded that our gift, time and talents are entrusted to us, we don't own them. Thus, we must maximize them and be true to ourselves.

What else does it take to live a life of significance? Simply Love your family, says Dungy. Oh! Oh! This is deeper than you think. It covers the importance of honoring our parents to how to treat a woman, fatherhood, respect for authority etc. And then, he also explains the importance of lifting our friends and others.

One cannot live a life of significance without maximizing his full potential. But what happens when talent seems to conflict with Education? Choose wisely, says Dungy. Don't dump one over the other while establishing a mission that matters.

Although divided into seven parts, this thirty-one chapter book is worth diving into anytime of the day. The down-to-earth approach of the author(s) gives a personal touch that makes the pages come alive, thus, making the teaching practical and livable. Each chapter opens up a new topic that is equally relevant to everyone living under the sun. The Epilogue connects us back to Brandon and Dallas, with a new perspective on how they are redeeming their once neglected path- giving hope to readers who might think it is too late for them.

Some questions that popped into mind while reading the book were answered so satisfactorily in the question and answer section of the book. And this is definitely one of the reasons I call "Uncommon" a book written by an author that connects so well to his readers.

Uncommon, will make a good birthday or Christmas gift for your son, brother, protege, boyfriend, or male colleagues/acquaintances! Every man out there, in their formative years, should read this book. However, it is not restricted to male audience alone, I enjoyed reading it (even though I am a female) and found the lessons relevant to me as well. We all desire to live a life of significance, don't we? Then go order for/buy your copy now!