PORTLAND — Two months after the passing of his mother, J.D., the founder of the prominent personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly, has announced that he is returning to public life and setting an intentional course for the year ahead. In a candid update to his readers, he revealed that the grief-induced fog that clouded his life for weeks has finally begun to lift, sparking a renewed sense of motivation to pursue productive endeavors.
Following a period of deep soul-searching alongside his partner, Kim, J.D. came to a realization that has fundamentally shifted his perspective for the foreseeable future: he needs to make 2023 the "Year of Me."
For a long time, J.D. admits, he has placed himself last, or nearly last, behind a myriad of other responsibilities, distractions, and excuses. Recognizing that he has allowed external pressures to interfere with his physical and mental well-being for far too long, he has made the executive decision to put his own needs first for the next year and potentially beyond.
While the concept initially brought feelings of discomfort—evoking concerns of selfishness—he noted that the shift is ultimately necessary. By prioritizing his own health and wellness, he believes he will naturally become a better person for those around him, including his loyal readership.
A Return to Themed Years
The strategy of dedicating extended periods of time to specific focal points is not entirely new to J.D.’s routine. More than a decade ago, he established a habit of assigning themes to his years and months. Whether the focus was physical fitness, writing, or dating, those intentional periods yielded significant personal results and proved to be remarkably fruitful.
Eventually, that habit fell by the wayside as daily life and competing priorities took over. By officially declaring 2023 the "Year of Me," J.D. is resurrecting that foundational approach to personal development, aiming to regain control over impulses that have derailed his focus.
For the readers of Get Rich Slowly, J.D. reassures that the core experience of the site will remain largely unchanged. If anything, the internal changes he is undergoing are expected to generate fresh insights and fuel future content for the platform. Furthermore, he anticipates that this personal focus will finally allow him to complete the long-awaited site redesign.
However, in alignment with his new 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, rather than forcing content for the sake of consistency. This organic approach, he explains, reflects his ongoing exercises in lifestyle design and his desire to live more authentically.
Finding Perspective Through Literature
J.D.’s renewed commitment to self-prioritization has been heavily influenced by recent reading material. During a Thanksgiving road trip to California with Kim and her family, 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 that J.D. found directly applicable to his current life stage.
Though the book is structured as a Socratic dialogue and requires careful navigation to extract its core lessons, J.D. found profound value in its teachings. He noted that the text, which he believes would be more accurately titled The Courage to Be Happy, challenged his long-standing habits of neglecting personal boundaries in favor of external expectations. He plans to re-examine the book in Kindle format to distill its best passages and may eventually publish a comprehensive review for the Get Rich Slowly community.
Embracing a Values-Driven Life
The philosophical shift toward personal accountability was further reinforced by a highlighted passage from Stephen R. Covey’s classic work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Reflecting on a quote regarding the distinction between proactive and reactive individuals, J.D. recognized that he had temporarily lost the ability to govern his impulses while drifting away from his core values.
Reactive individuals, Covey notes, are driven by fleeting feelings, environmental conditions, and immediate circumstances, whereas proactive individuals are guided by carefully chosen, internalized values. Acknowledging that he had surrendered too much control to external distractions—such as uninsstalling time-consuming applications like Reddit and Hearthstone from his iPad—J.D. is working to realign his daily habits with his foundational principles.
While his future posts on Get Rich Slowly may vary in length and structure, ranging from concise updates to conversational essays, J.D. remains steadfast in his commitment to authentic engagement. For now, the "Year of Me" represents an inward transformation, promising a healthier, more intentional approach to life and work as the year unfolds.
