Self-help books, coaching books, management books—they often promise all sorts of things, but does anything really change after reading them? I wondered and looked back at the books that did have a lasting impact on me. This is the thirteenth book that gives me direction. Every single day.

HET BESTE KOMT NOG (From Strength to Strength)
Arthur Brooks, a former Harvard professor, wrote this book for people entering the second half of their lives—and finding that continuing on the same path no longer works. Arthur describes how many people flourish in the first half of life thanks to what he calls “flying intelligence”: quick thinking, creativity, and achievement. But as we age, that strength shifts. Brooks shows how we can transition to a different approach: “wisdom intelligence.” Instead of clinging desperately to what we are slowly losing, we can learn to be valuable in a new way—to ourselves and others.

A few years ago, I found myself struggling. Who did I want to be professionally, now that I was no longer that innovator? In the 1990s, I was one of the first leadership coaches, at a time when this form of coaching didn’t yet exist. I couldn’t have imagined there would one day be 111,000 coaches in the Netherlands. Some of them are very good, and many others do their work with good intentions, but are far from always skilled. And yes, I had some opinions about that. I realized I was well on my way to becoming a grumpy old man.

For my birthday, my dear friend and colleague Petra Stienen gave me “The Best Is Yet to Come.” A lovely title, I thought—but it was probably another overpromise. The cover stared at me for months. By Christmas, I was ready for a fairy tale, so I started reading it anyway. What I read surprised me. Brooks writes in a warm, personal tone—you sense he’s walked this path himself. His insights resonated with me. He gave me practical tools for finding new meaning and inner peace. It made me happy. In short: yes, there are books that can change your life. This is one of them.