For J.D., the founder of the prominent personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly, the opening of a new year brings a profound shift in perspective. Following a period of intense grief and a difficult two-month fog after the death of his mother, J.D. announced to his readers that his life is finally beginning to settle, paving the way for a renewed sense of motivation and purpose.
In a candid update to his community, J.D. revealed that he has spent the past several weeks engaged in serious soul-searching alongside his partner, Kim. The conclusion of this introspection is both simple and radical for the veteran writer: 2023 must be designated as the "Year of Me."
This decision marks a deliberate departure from years of putting his own needs on the back burner. For more than a decade, J.D. had practiced the habit of assigning thematic focuses to his years and months—a strategy he recalls as both fun and highly fruitful. Whether he was channeling energy into fitness, writing, or dating, dedicating a specific span of time to a singular goal consistently yielded positive results. However, that structured habit eventually faded, and J.D. found himself sliding down his own priority list, pushing his physical and mental well-being to second, third, or even ninth place behind competing demands and daily distractions.
Acknowledging that the shift feels counterintuitive, J.D. admitted that prioritizing himself feels uncomfortable, almost bordering on selfish or wrong. Yet, he recognizes that making excuses and allowing external factors to interfere with his health can no longer continue. For the foreseeable future, making his own well-being a primary job is essential, grounded in the understanding that taking care of oneself ultimately makes a person better equipped to support others—including the dedicated readers of his platform.
For the audience of Get Rich Slowly, the overarching impact of this personal evolution is expected to be minimal in terms of outward disruption. J.D. reassures readers that the transformation is primarily internal, driven by a conscious decision to grant himself permission to place his needs and desires ahead of everything else. Far from abandoning his platform, he believes this renewed focus will naturally generate fresh content and insights for the site, while finally bringing long-awaited progress to ongoing projects, such as the site’s ongoing redesign.
At the same time, this internal realignment comes with a major change in operational philosophy: J.D. is deliberately stepping away from rigid publishing schedules and production quotas. Moving forward, he intends to write only when he has something meaningful to say, refusing to force content simply to meet an arbitrary deadline. This spontaneous approach is reflected in his latest update, crafted during a brief window of free time after completing an exercise from the book Designing Your Life and before a scheduled phone call with a friend. While longer, highly focused articles will not disappear entirely, the daily rhythm of the blog is shifting to accommodate this more organic, conversational style.
The Courage to Be Disliked
The intellectual foundation for J.D.’s current phase of self-reflection was reinforced during a Thanksgiving road trip to California with Kim and her family. To pass the hours on the road, the couple listened to The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. The book, which explores the psychological worldview of Alfred Adler, focuses heavily on themes of personal autonomy, interpersonal relationships, and the liberation that comes from releasing the need for external validation—a premise J.D. notes might be even more accurately titled The Courage to Be Happy.
The audiobook proved to be dense with philosophical insights, prompting J.D. to plan a return to the material in a digital format. Rather than sitting through the entirety of the Socratic dialogue structure a second time, he intends to skim the text to extract key passages and highlight the most impactful concepts. He has also floated the possibility of sharing a comprehensive review and summary of the book on Get Rich Slowly at a later date, should the material continue to resonate with his personal trajectory.
A Values-Driven Life
The themes of self-mastery and intentional living were further underscored by a resurfaced quote from Stephen R. Covey’s foundational work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which appeared in J.D.’s Readwise highlights. The passage—emphasizing that the ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of a proactive person, whereas reactive individuals are driven by fleeting feelings and environmental conditions—struck a profound chord given his current circumstances.
Recognizing that he had temporarily lost control over his impulses while drifting away from his core values, J.D. has already begun taking tangible steps to course-correct. Among these early actions are the removal of distracting applications, such as Reddit and Hearthstone, from his iPad. By systematically eliminating digital clutter and impulsivity, he aims to realign his daily habits with carefully considered and internalized values.
While this new chapter may look different from the traditional publishing model readers have come to expect, J.D. remains committed to sharing his journey transparently. Whether through short updates, conversational reflections, or future book reviews, the "Year of Me" represents a vital turning point, anchored in self-care, deliberate focus, and the courage to live authentically.
