Out of the Maze

Out of the Maze Plot Summary

Introduction

Imagine standing at the entrance of a vast, complex maze. The path ahead forks in multiple directions, and the once-familiar markers have disappeared. Your map—the one you've relied on for years—suddenly seems outdated. This is how many of us feel when confronted with significant change in our lives or careers. We become paralyzed, confused about which way to turn, and sometimes find ourselves stubbornly waiting for things to return to how they once were. This profound parable continues the journey begun in Spencer Johnson's previous work, taking us deeper into the psychology of change and belief. While his earlier book taught us about adapting to change, this story explores something more fundamental: why some people can adapt while others remain stuck, and how our beliefs either imprison us or set us free. Through the continued adventures of Hem, we discover that the greatest maze isn't the one around us but the one within our minds. The journey reveals how examining and changing our beliefs—those thoughts we trust are true—can transform our experience of change from something frightening into an opportunity for growth and discovery.

Chapter 1: Hem's Dilemma: When Old Beliefs Block Progress

After his friend Haw left to search for New Cheese, Hem remained alone at Cheese Station C, pacing back and forth, growing increasingly upset. Days passed, but no Cheese appeared. He expected Haw to return any moment, yet as time stretched on, Hem's thoughts turned from expectation to anger, then to worry. "Why hasn't Haw returned?" he wondered. "Why didn't I go with him?" The question gnawed at him like a mouse gnawing cheese. As hunger grew unbearable, Hem finally realized he could no longer stay and wait. He found his old running shoes, put them on, and prepared to venture into the Maze. Before leaving, he wrote down what he knew for certain: he needed Cheese to survive, the Maze was dangerous, and he was on his own. These "Facts of the Matter" felt reassuring to Hem. With his trusty hammer and chisel in a bag over his shoulder, he set out into the unknown. For days, Hem wandered deeper into the Maze, finding every chamber empty. He avoided dark corners and blind alleys, just as he'd always done. Occasionally, he noticed writings on the walls—notes Haw had left behind—but they made no sense to him. One read: "Your beliefs make all the difference." Hem dismissed this: "Cheese is either there or it's not. Beliefs have nothing to do with it!" As his strength waned, he curled up on the floor and fell into a troubled sleep. When Hem awoke, he discovered something unexpected—round red objects that weren't Cheese. A stranger sat nearby, offering one to him. "You looked hungry," she said. Hem refused, insisting he only ate Cheese. Later, desperate with hunger, he tried one. To his surprise, it was delicious—an Apple, the stranger explained. Her name was Hope, and she had given Hem her last piece of fruit. This moment marks the beginning of Hem's transformation. His first breakthrough came not from finding what he was looking for, but from accepting something he didn't even know existed. His belief that only Cheese could sustain him had kept him from seeing other possibilities. By questioning just one deeply held assumption, Hem took his first step toward freedom from the mental maze that truly imprisoned him.

Chapter 2: Meeting Hope: The Power of a Different Perspective

Hope explained to Hem that she lived at "Fruit Station A," and that Apples had been getting scarce lately. She had been exploring the Maze looking for new supplies, just as Hem was searching for Cheese. Remarkably, she had given Hem her last Apple when she saw how hungry he was. This act of generosity stunned Hem, who had been focused solely on his own survival. Together, they decided to continue searching the Maze. Hem was convinced that trying harder was the answer: "What I need to do is explore parts of the Maze I haven't tried yet." Hope simply shrugged and joined him. As they walked, Hem told Hope about the old days when Cheese was abundant and easy to find. He lamented how times had changed and how he was no longer the strong, proud Littleperson he once was. Each day, they found just enough Cheese crumbs and occasional Apples to survive, but their search remained largely fruitless. Hem grew increasingly exhausted, dragging his heavy bag of tools everywhere they went. One evening, Hope asked, "Why do you bring that bag with you every day?" Hem explained it contained his hammer and chisel for making holes in walls. Hope's simple question caught him off guard: "Does making holes in the wall actually find you more cheese?" Hem felt offended but couldn't answer. He missed Haw and wished things would return to how they were. Hope gently suggested, "I don't think things ever go back to how they were. Maybe they can turn out better than they were." She pointed to one of Haw's messages on the wall: "Old Beliefs Do Not Lead You to New Cheese." Hope wondered aloud, "What if we tried a new belief?" This notion seemed absurd to Hem. "You don't try a belief," he protested. "Your beliefs are just... there!" He resisted changing his mind because he thought his beliefs made him who he was. "If I changed them, who would I be? I wouldn't be Hem!" That night, exhausted and discouraged, Hem fell asleep wondering why he hadn't gone with Haw when he had the chance. Hope's perspective challenges us to examine how we relate to our own beliefs. We often resist questioning them because we fear losing our identity. Yet this story suggests that our core selves remain intact even as our thoughts evolve. Sometimes the most valuable gift another person can offer is not answers, but questions that help us see beyond the walls we've built in our minds.

Chapter 3: The Prison of Certainty: How Our Thoughts Trap Us

That night, Hem had a profound dream. He saw himself back at Cheese Station C, but something was different—there were bars on the windows. He was a prisoner in his own house! Waking up confused, he pondered this strange vision until dawn. In the early light, he could make out Haw's message: "Old Beliefs Do Not Lead You to New Cheese." Suddenly, Hem had an insight. He picked up a stone and wrote his own message on the wall: "A belief is just a thought that you trust is true." That's all a belief was—a thought. Yet these thoughts held incredible power over his actions and choices. He realized that his beliefs had kept him trapped at Cheese Station C because he trusted they were true. He had believed that if he stayed, things would turn around. He had believed Haw was foolish to leave. Energized by this revelation, Hem wrote another note: "Your beliefs can hold you prisoner." He pictured himself pacing at home, waiting for Cheese to reappear, trusting that things would return to normal. That belief had held him captive! Then he wrote: "Not all beliefs hold you down. Some lift you up." He thought of how trusting Hope had served him well. She had given him her last Apple! As his mind raced with new understanding, Hem realized he could choose different beliefs. When Hope had suggested this earlier, he'd dismissed it as impossible. Now he saw that he could change his mind without changing who he was. He wrote: "Changing what you think doesn't change who you are." This discovery filled him with unexpected energy. When Hope arrived that morning, she found Hem polishing his running shoes and humming to himself. Looking at his wall of notes, each surrounded by the outline of an Apple, she asked what had happened. "I changed my mind," Hem replied simply. Though he hadn't yet figured out exactly what new belief to choose, he knew that his old approach wasn't working. The dream sequence brilliantly illustrates how our thoughts create the barriers that confine us. We become imprisoned not by external circumstances but by our own rigid thinking. Certainty—our absolute trust in what we "know"—becomes the bars on our windows. Hem's realization that beliefs are simply "thoughts we trust are true" provides the key that unlocks the door. The first step toward freedom is recognizing that we have the power to question what we've always assumed to be unquestionable.

Chapter 4: Changing Beliefs: The Courage to See Things Differently

Hope sat beside Hem and asked a question that would change everything: "Before, when your cheese was still appearing fresh every day—where did it come from?" Hem started to feel annoyed by her constant questioning, but then stopped himself. Had he ever asked this question before? Had Haw? He realized they never had! "Where did the Cheese come from?" he repeated slowly. "You know, I think that might be a very good question." Hope's eyes sparkled as she posed an even more radical question: "I wonder what's outside the Maze." Hem stared at her in disbelief. "There's nothing outside the Maze," he insisted. The Maze was all there was—there couldn't be an "outside." Then they both exclaimed simultaneously: "A thought you trust is true!" Hem recognized this as another limiting belief. Could he change this one too? He tried to imagine a place outside the Maze but couldn't picture anything beyond what he already knew. Hope suggested, "What if you just believe it first? Maybe then you'll see it." Hem closed his eyes and embraced a new thought: "There is something amazing outside the Maze." As he felt the thought fill his mind, he wrote on the wall: "You can do, experience, and enjoy a lot more than you think you can." Looking at Hope, he declared, "Let's go find out what's outside the Maze." With newfound determination, they began exploring differently. Instead of avoiding the dark corners as Hem had always done, they sought them out. Hope carried a candle to light their way. When they found what appeared to be another blind alley, Hope challenged Hem again: "Maybe not all blind alleys are blind." Hem tried to trust this new thought, closing his eyes and imagining the possibility. They continued into the passageway and discovered a tiny light—a reflection from a small window set into a door! Behind the door was a small chamber that appeared empty. Hem turned to leave, but Hope waited. He questioned himself: If not all dark corners were dark, and not all blind alleys were blind, could it be that not all empty chambers were empty? They searched the room carefully and found an opening in the wall just big enough for a Littleperson to crawl through. The process of changing beliefs is rarely instantaneous. This chapter shows how it unfolds in stages: first questioning, then considering alternatives, followed by the courage to experiment with a new perspective. Hope doesn't push Hem to accept her view but invites him to test possibilities for himself. True transformation comes not from being told what to believe but from having the courage to question our most fundamental assumptions about what's possible.

Chapter 5: Beyond the Maze: Discovering What Was Always Possible

Hope and Hem crawled through the tunnel until they emerged into brilliant light. Standing upright in a beautiful green meadow with fresh air and a gentle breeze, Hem was speechless. The ceiling was blue and so high up, with a dazzling golden light brighter than any he had known—the sun, though he had no word for it yet. Hem felt something in his pocket—the paper listing "The Facts of the Matter" he had written before starting his journey. Reading it now, he began to laugh. "It says I have to find more Cheese, and if I don't, I'll die," he told Hope. "But I found Apples instead, and ate those, and I didn't die." The paper also claimed the Maze was dangerous and full of dark corners and blind alleys—yet it was a dark corner and blind alley that had led them to freedom. Finally, it had stated he was on his own, which clearly wasn't true either. As they explored this new world outside the Maze, they found Apples and Cheese everywhere. They even discovered they tasted delicious together! Everything was brighter than inside the Maze, and the air smelled sweeter. Hem looked at his list of "facts" and laughed again. "They seemed like facts at the time," he said. Hope nodded. "But they weren't." Hem replied, "No. Not a single one." On the back of his paper, Hem wrote down what he had learned: "Notice Your Beliefs," "A Belief Is a Thought That You Trust Is True," "Don't Believe Everything You Think," "Sometimes 'Facts' Are Just How You See Things," and several other insights about choosing new beliefs and exploring the impossible. As they sat enjoying the sunlight, Hem thought of his friend Haw, wishing he could share this experience with him. Hope seemed to read his mind: "You're thinking of Haw. We have to go find him." Just as they stood to begin their search, they heard someone calling Hem's name. It was Haw! The friends embraced joyfully, and Haw introduced himself to Hope. "What happened?" Haw asked. Hem reflected: "First, I got angry. Then, I got hungry. Then, I found Hope. Then, I changed my mind!" Haw smiled warmly and embraced Hem again. "I'm so glad you found your way out of the Maze. And I'm even happier that you found how to change your beliefs." The world beyond our limited perspectives often contains abundance we cannot imagine while trapped in our mental mazes. This chapter beautifully illustrates how our most deeply held "facts" can be completely upended when we step outside our confined thinking. The journey through the tunnel represents the courage required to move through uncertainty before reaching clarity. What awaits on the other side isn't just survival, but a richness of experience that transcends our previous conception of what was possible.

Chapter 6: Applying the Lessons: From Fiction to Real-World Change

Dennis, the seminar leader who had shared Hem's story with his business development class, paused to gauge their reactions. After a moment of silence, Alex spoke up: "Wow. Good for Hem. He did it. He made it out of the Maze." The discussion that followed revealed how deeply the story had resonated with everyone in the room. Brooke, who worked in publishing, shared a story about a former boss who refused to adapt to digital media. "Nobody could convince the publisher we needed to get online. He believed print advertising would keep paying the bills, even when our biggest accounts switched to advertising on the web. A year after I arrived, the whole operation shut down." Dennis nodded. "Beliefs are powerful things. A single stubborn belief can take down an entire company." He offered the example of the Titanic, described as "unsinkable." Because everyone believed this, they didn't load enough lifeboats—a decision that cost more than 1,500 lives. "All because of a thought people trusted was true," observed Mia, a doctor in the class. The group then discussed how not all beliefs are limiting. Some are "powerful truths, beacons that lift us up and help us keep moving forward." These included beliefs like "all people are created equal," believing in our children, and believing in oneself. Dennis asked Mia why she became a doctor. "To help ease people's suffering," she replied without hesitation. "That's not just a thought she thinks is true," Dennis explained to the class. "That desire to heal? That's the essence of Mia showing through." Tim, the young man who had originally asked about Hem, shared his struggle with his parents' separation. "All my life they were this constant, this bedrock. The one sure thing in my world. And they just gave up!" Dennis gently asked, "What if you tried believing differently?" Tim's immediate response—"It doesn't work that way!"—echoed Hem's exact words from the story. The parallel wasn't lost on Tim, who smiled thinly at the realization. Stories have a unique power to help us recognize patterns in our own thinking that would otherwise remain invisible to us. Tim's sudden awareness of how his response mirrored Hem's demonstrates how narrative can create a safe space for self-reflection. When we see ourselves in fictional characters, we gain emotional distance that allows us to examine our beliefs with less defensiveness. The seminar participants' varied applications of the story's lessons show how the same principles can illuminate different life challenges—from business transformation to personal relationships.

Chapter 7: Leadership Insights: Helping Others Out of Their Maze

As the seminar neared its end, Alex, who had been vocal about his struggles the previous week, had been unusually quiet. When Dennis called on him, Alex spoke thoughtfully: "Seems to me that it starts with me. I've been so focused on the problems—on my changing industry, how confusing it is, how hard it is to keep up and know what to do next." He continued, "And that's exactly what Hem was trying to do, right? Roaming all over the Maze, trying to find the solution. But where he needed to start wasn't anywhere in the Maze. It was right in his own head." Alex had realized that the maze he was stuck in wasn't his job or industry, but his own thinking. Brooke suggested it was time to "let go of some old beliefs," and Alex enthusiastically agreed: "And choose some new ones!" Ben added with a grin, "Don't forget what Hem thought about that. There is something amazing outside the Maze!" The group laughed and applauded. Dennis smiled thoughtfully. "When you allow yourself to believe it, an entire world of new possibilities opens its doors to you. Which is quite an amazing thing indeed." He thanked everyone for the great discussion and wished them the best in their careers and lives. After the story ended, the book included a poignant letter written by Spencer Johnson during his battle with pancreatic cancer. Addressed to his tumor, it revealed how he had transformed his fear into love: "I love you now! I used to fear and fight you... Then I looked at my beliefs to see if they were more about what I loved or what I feared. Clearly they were about what I feared. And I love how I have learned to love you, which seemed like a strange idea to me. How much richer my life has become." Ken Blanchard, in his afterword, confirmed that Spencer had indeed "walked his talk." When diagnosed with cancer, Spencer chose to approach the rest of his life from a belief system based on love rather than fear. He reconnected with people he hadn't spoken to in years and focused on others rather than his own condition. During Blanchard's last visit, Spencer focused on expressing appreciation for the people who had played important roles in their lives. True leadership isn't just about finding your own way out of the maze—it's about living the principles you discover so authentically that you inspire others to examine their own limiting beliefs. Spencer Johnson's personal journey with cancer powerfully demonstrates the transformative potential of consciously choosing beliefs based on love rather than fear. By making this choice visible through both his writing and his living example, he provided a leadership model that transcends organizational hierarchies and speaks to our shared human experience.

Summary

Our greatest limitations are rarely external circumstances but the invisible walls of belief we construct around ourselves. Throughout Hem's journey, we witness the profound transformation that becomes possible when we recognize that our beliefs are simply "thoughts we trust are true" rather than immutable facts. Whether facing organizational change, career disruption, or personal challenges, our ability to adapt hinges not on the situation itself but on our willingness to question the assumptions that frame how we see it. The path from limitation to possibility begins with noticing our beliefs and asking whether they serve us. Do they lift us up or hold us down? Are they based on fear or love? The book offers practical wisdom for this journey: don't believe everything you think; let go of what isn't working; you can't launch a new quest with old baggage; and perhaps most importantly, changing what you think doesn't change who you are. Spencer Johnson's own life provides the most compelling evidence of these principles. When faced with terminal cancer, he chose to replace fear-based beliefs with love-centered ones, transforming his final days into a period of profound connection and meaning. His experience reminds us that even in circumstances we cannot change, we retain the power to choose beliefs that enrich rather than diminish our lives.

About Author

Loading...

Spencer Johnson

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.Patrick Spencer Johnson was an American writer. He was known for the ValueTales series of children's books, and for his 1998 self-help book Who Moved My Cheese?, which recurred on the New York Times Bestseller list, on the Publishers Weekly Hardcover nonfiction list. Johnson was the chairman of Spencer Johnson Partners.

Read more

Related Books by Spencer Johnson

Loading...

Who Moved My Cheese?

Spencer Johnson

An Amazing Way to Deal With Change in Your Work and in Your Life

★★★½☆3.9

Loading...

The One Minute Manager

Spencer Johnson

Increase Productivity, Profits and your own Prosperity

★★★½☆4.0