Out of the Maze: An A-Mazing Way to Get Unstuck

by Spencer Johnson, Ken Blanchard (Foreword by), John David Mann (Contribution by)

Overview

The sequel to Who Moved My Cheese?, the beloved 28-million-copy bestseller that became a worldwide sensation.

Wall Street Journal Bestseller

In his trademark style that has won tens of millions of fans, Dr. Spencer Johnson once again shares a simple story that offers profound truths about how to transform your life.

When we first met them in Who Moved My Cheese?, two mouse-sized characters named Hem and Haw were faced with unexpected change, when the Cheese they loved suddenly disappeared. Haw learned how to deal with that change successfully by setting off in search of New Cheese. But Hem remained stuck where he was.

Now Out of the Maze reveals what Hem did next—and how his discoveries can help you unlock the riddle of whatever mazes you may face yourself.

When you follow Hem and his new friend, Hope, on their new journey, you'll discover how to get more out of life by thinking outside the box. Or, in this case, outside the Maze.

Written for all ages and backgrounds, this story takes less than an hour to read, yet its insights can last for a lifetime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525537298
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/13/2018
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	194,484
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.56(h) x 0.57(d)

About the Author

Spencer Johnson, M.D., was the author or coauthor of many New York Times bestsellers, including Who Moved My Cheese?, The Present, Peaks and Valleys, and (with Ken Blanchard) The One Minute Manager, the world's most popular management method. His books have been translated into 44 languages and have helped tens of millions of people around the world. His education included a B.A. in psychology from the University of Southern California, an M.D. from the Royal College of Surgeons, and medical clerkships at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic. He died in 2017.

Date of Birth:

January 1, 1940

Place of Birth:

South Dakota

Education:

B.A. in psychology, University of Southern California, 1963; M.D., Royal College of Surgeons

Website:

http://www.whomovedmycheese.com

Read an Excerpt

For days, Hem stayed in his home by Cheese Station C, pacing back and forth, fussing and fuming.
He still expected more Cheese to appear every day, and couldn’t believe it when that didn’t happen. He felt sure that if he stood his ground and waited it out, things would turn around.
But they didn’t.
And why didn’t Haw come back? Hem came up with many different answers as he paced.
At first he told himself, “He is coming back. He’ll be here any day now, and things will go back to normal.” But it had been “any day now” for days, and Haw still wasn’t here.
 
As he grew still more upset, Hem’s thoughts took a different direction.
“He forgot about me.”
“He’s hiding from me.”
“He’s doing this on purpose! How could my friend betray me like this?”
This last thought made Hem angry, and the more he focused on it, the angrier he got.
He was angry that Haw had left him alone, angry that the Cheese was gone, and angry that nothing he did seemed to fix or improve the situation. Finally he stopped and shouted, “IT’S NOT FAIR!”
Worn out from pacing and being upset, Hem collapsed into his favorite armchair and began to brood.
What if Haw got lost?
What if he’d been hurt, or worse?
Hem forgot about being angry and just thought about his friend, and about what terrible things might have happened to him.
 
After a while a different question occurred to him. Instead of “Why hasn’t Haw come back?” he began to wonder, “Why didn’t I go with him?”
If he had gone with Haw, he reasoned, maybe things would have been different. Maybe Haw wouldn’t have gotten lost. Maybe nothing bad would have happened to him. Maybe they would be eating Cheese together right now.
Why didn’t he move with the Cheese like his friend did?
Why didn’t he go with Haw?
The question gnawed at him, like a mouse gnawing on a piece of Cheese.
Meanwhile, he was getting hungrier and hungrier.
 
Hem got up out of his chair again to do some more pacing, and he tripped over something on the floor. He bent down and picked it up. It was only after he blew off the dust that he recognized it.
It was an old chisel.
He remembered the day when he held that chisel while Haw whacked at it with a hammer until they made a big hole in the wall of Cheese Station C, looking for new Cheese. He could almost hear the sound of the hammer and chisel echoing off the walls of the room.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
He poked around on the floor until he found the hammer they had used, and blew the dust off that, too. He hadn’t realized till that moment just how long it had been since the two of them, Hem and Haw, had gone looking for Cheese together.
He missed his friend. And he was starting to worry. All this time he still expected more Cheese to appear, and for Haw to come back.
But there was still no Cheese, and no Haw.
He had to do something. He could no longer stay home and wait. He had to go out into the Maze and search for Cheese.

Table of Contents

The Story Behind Out of the Maze ix

Foreword Emerson Johnson Austin Johnson Christian Johnson xi

A Seminar: Chicago 1

Out of the Maze

The Original Story of Who Moved My Cheese? 5

The New Story: What Happened Next… 7

Hem's Dilemma

The Facts of the Matter

Hem Ventures Into the Maze

The Stranger

Trying Harder

Hem's Dream

Hem Chooses a New Belief

What if You Believed It Was Possible?

"What's Outside the Maze?"

Dark Corners and Blind Alleys

Out of the Maze

A Discussion 69

Letter Spencer Johnson, M.D. 79

Afterword Ken Blanchard, Ph.D. 81

Acknowledgments 83

Editorial Reviews

"Out of the Maze is a short, sweet, cheesy (yes) book — but it’s a calming, quick read and is likely to be in huge demand as an optimistic, accessible way to start thinking about change." - The Financial Times

"This story is for everyone who is facing a difficult situation in life — which everyone does at one time or another. Has something disappeared in your life, much like the two main characters, Hem and Haw, lost their cheese? You can stop going about trying to retrieve what you’ve lost and escape from a maze of indecision. [Out of the Maze] truly can help you let go of old baggage and explore the impossible by choosing a new belief.
— Florida Times-Union

From the Publisher