After a period of profound personal loss and extensive self-reflection, J.D., the founder of the personal finance community Get Rich Slowly, has announced that he is shifting his focus inward. Two months after the passing of his mother, the lingering emotional fog has finally begun to lift, leaving him motivated to reengage with his life, his health, and his work on his own terms.
In a candid update to his readers, J.D. explained that after spending weeks engaging in serious soul-searching alongside his partner, Kim, he has realized a vital truth: above all else, he needs to make 2023 the "Year of Me."
The concept of thematic years is not new to J.D.’s routine. More than a decade ago, he regularly established themes for his months and years, a practice he found both personally enjoyable and highly productive. Whether he was devoting a specific span of time to physical fitness, writing, or dating, assigning a clear focus yielded measurable results. However, as the years progressed, this productive habit eventually fell by the wayside, and J.D. found himself consistently pushing his own needs down the priority list.
"Well, I’ve spent too long putting myself second. Or third. Or ninth," J.D. wrote. "Starting yesterday, my aim is to put myself first for the next year (or more)."
Acknowledging that this shift feels inherently difficult, and even somewhat wrong or selfish, he emphasized that it is a necessary correction. For too long, he notes, he has allowed outside distractions and daily excuses to interfere with his fundamental pursuit of physical and mental health. By declaring that J.D. is "job one" for the foreseeable future, he aims to reverse years of self-neglect, operating under the philosophy that prioritizing oneself ultimately creates a better, more capable person for others, including his readership.
For the loyal audience of Get Rich Slowly, the day-to-day experience of reading the site is expected to remain largely unchanged. The transformation taking place is internal. By granting himself explicit permission to put his own needs and desires ahead of external pressures, J.D. believes he will naturally generate fresh insights and experiences that will translate into compelling content for the site, including finally bringing the long-awaited site redesign to completion.
However, as a cornerstone of this new personal mandate, J.D. is deliberately stepping away from rigid publishing or production schedules. Moving forward, he intends to write purely when inspiration strikes rather than forcing content for the sake of a routine. This flexible approach was precisely what prompted his recent update: having just completed a life-design exercise and finding himself with unexpected free time before a scheduled call, he chose to share his thoughts organically.
The Courage to Be Disliked
A significant catalyst for this philosophical shift came during a Thanksgiving road trip to California with Kim and her brother’s family. To pass the miles, the couple listened to The Courage to Be Disliked by authors Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. The book, which J.D. notes might be more accurately titled The Courage to Be Happy, explores the psychological worldview and individual psychology of Alfred Adler.
The audiobook resonated deeply, offering a wealth of perspective that J.D. plans to revisit. Because the book is structured in the style of a traditional Socratic dialogue—a format that presents both narrative benefits and reading challenges—he intends to skim the Kindle edition specifically to extract and review its most impactful passages. He also hinted that a comprehensive review or summary of the book could eventually make its way onto the Get Rich Slowly platform.
A Values-Driven Life
The internal restructuring J.D. is currently undergoing is deeply intertwined with a renewed focus on core values rather than fleeting impulses. Highlighting a passage from Stephen R. Covey’s foundational book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which resurfaced through his Readwise account, J.D. pointed to the critical distinction between reactive and proactive living.
Covey writes, "The ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of a proactive person. Reactive people are driven by feelings, by circumstances, by conditions, by their environment. Proactive people are driven by values—carefully thought about, selected, and internalized values."
Reflecting on this quote, J.D. admitted that he had somehow lost his ability to govern his daily impulses while simultaneously drifting away from his core principles. Recognizing this misalignment, he has already begun taking concrete measures to regain control. He has uninstalled distracting applications like Reddit and Hearthstone from his iPad, setting the stage to actively reintegrate his core values into his daily routine.
While this new phase may yield shorter, more conversational, or segmented posts rather than long, heavily structured essays, J.D. remains fully committed to the Get Rich Slowly community. For now, embracing a values-driven life and allowing the "Year of Me" to unfold naturally is the right path forward.
