After spending the final months of 2022 navigating the profound grief of losing his mother, J.D., the founder of the personal finance community Get Rich Slowly, has announced that he is finally emerging from the emotional fog. In a candid update to his readers, he revealed that he is rediscovering his motivation and making a deliberate choice to shift his focus inward, declaring 2023 to be the "Year of Me."
Reflecting on the two months that have passed since his mother’s passing, J.D. explained that deep soul-searching alongside his partner, Kim, led to the realization that his personal well-being has taken a backseat for far too long. Moving forward, he intends to prioritize his own mental and physical health above all else.
While the concept of prioritizing oneself can often feel uncomfortable or inherently selfish, J.D. noted that recognizing this necessity is actually a vital step toward becoming a better person for others, including his dedicated readership. Rather than viewing self-care as a luxury, he is treating it as an essential foundation for a balanced life.
2023 — The Year of Me
The practice of assigning a unifying theme to a span of time is not entirely new for the financial writer. More than a decade ago, J.D. frequently used themes to guide his personal and professional endeavors. Whether he was dedicating a season to physical fitness, writing projects, or dating, he found that intentional focus consistently yielded fruitful and rewarding results.
Over time, however, this habit faded into the background. As life grew more complex, J.D. found himself consistently placing his own needs second, third, or even ninth in order of priority. Recognizing that he has spent too long making excuses and allowing external distractions to interfere with his health, he has decided to flip the script. Starting immediately, his primary objective is to put himself first for the foreseeable future, allowing the age of focused self-preservation to commence.
For the audience of Get Rich Slowly, J.D. reassured readers that the day-to-day experience of engaging with the platform will remain largely unchanged. The transformation taking place is primarily internal. By granting himself explicit permission to put his own desires and necessities ahead of external demands, he expects to generate fresh perspectives and renewed energy that will naturally translate into engaging content for the site.
At the same time, J.D. is intentionally removing traditional pressures from his creative process. He has decided not to hold himself to any rigid publishing or production schedules for the duration of his "Year of Me." If he feels compelled to write and share a thought, he will do so; if not, he will avoid forcing content for the sake of a calendar. This flexible approach allows him to share spontaneous reflections, such as updates inspired by exercises from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans’s book Designing Your Life, whenever the mood strikes.
The Courage to Be Disliked
A significant catalyst for J.D.’s recent shift in perspective came during a Thanksgiving road trip to California with Kim and her family. To pass the hours on the road, the couple listened to the audiobook The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. The book, which explores the psychological worldview of Alfred Adler—often regarded alongside Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung as one of the founding figures of modern psychiatry—offered profound insights into human behavior and happiness.
Although the authors present Adlerian psychology through a distinctive Socratic dialogue format that can occasionally require careful navigation, J.D. found the core philosophies deeply resonant. The book challenges conventional ways of thinking about interpersonal relationships, self-worth, and the pursuit of validation, effectively reframing how individuals perceive their place in the world.
Inspired by the audiobook’s overarching messages, J.D. plans to revisit the material in digital format, selectively reviewing key highlights rather than sitting through every conversational exchange. He has also hinted that these explorations into Adlerian psychology may eventually culminate in a full review or summary article published on Get Rich Slowly.
A Values-Driven Life
To reinforce his renewed commitment to personal growth, J.D. highlighted a passage that resurfaced in his Readwise daily highlights, drawn from Stephen R. Covey’s classic work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. 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 Covey’s words, J.D. realized that a primary reason he reached a point of burnout was the gradual erosion of his impulse control alongside a disconnection from his core values. Recognizing the need for immediate corrective action, he has already begun eliminating digital distractions by uninstalling games and time-consuming applications, such as Hearthstone and Reddit, from his iPad.
These practical steps mark the beginning of his broader effort to reintegrate his carefully chosen values into daily practice. While future updates on Get Rich Slowly may take on a shorter, more conversational format as J.D. navigates this transitional year, the underlying commitment to thoughtful, authentic writing remains firmly intact.
