For J.D., the founder of the prominent personal finance platform Get Rich Slowly, the opening months of 2023 mark a significant personal and professional turning point. Following a challenging period marked by the loss of his mother two months ago, J.D. has announced that the fog has finally lifted, leaving him motivated to reengage with his life and work. However, this return to productivity comes with a radical shift in perspective: he has officially declared 2023 to be "The Year of Me."
The decision comes after weeks of intensive soul-searching conducted alongside his partner, Kim. Recognizing that he has spent years placing his own physical and mental health on the back burner, J.D. has resolved to prioritize his personal well-being above all else for the foreseeable future. While acknowledging that putting oneself first can initially feel uncomfortable, selfish, or contrary to ingrained habits, he maintains that true self-care is a prerequisite for being genuinely helpful to others.
This introspective shift represents a return to a practice J.D. successfully utilized more than a decade ago: the tradition of assigning distinct themes to years and months. In the past, dedicating specific spans of time to singular pursuits—whether fitness, writing, or dating—yielded remarkable and fruitful results. Over time, however, that habit faded, and J.D. found himself sliding down his own priority list, frequently allowing outside demands and distractions to interfere with his core health goals.
For the readers of Get Rich Slowly, the foundational mission of the platform remains intact, but the operational approach is undergoing a deliberate evolution. J.D. notes that the primary changes will take place internally rather than externally. By granting himself explicit permission to place his needs and desires first, he anticipates discovering renewed inspiration and creative fodder for future writing, alongside finally completing the long-awaited redesign of the website.
At the same time, J.D. is stepping away from rigid publishing calendars and strict production schedules. Moving forward, he intends to write organically—sharing thoughts when inspiration strikes and avoiding forced output when it does not. This philosophy shaped his recent update, which was written spontaneously following a Designing Your Life exercise during a brief window of free time before a scheduled call. While longer, highly focused articles will still have a place on the site, readers should expect a more conversational, spontaneous flow during this transitional year.
The Courage to Be Disliked
A major catalyst for this internal reset occurred around Thanksgiving, when J.D. and Kim drove to California to visit her brother’s 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 and which J.D. suggests might be more accurately titled The Courage to Be Happy, offered a wealth of perspective that resonated deeply with his current life stage.
Although the book is written in the challenging format of a Socratic dialogue—making it difficult to absorb entirely during a single listen—it left a lasting impression. J.D. plans to revisit the text in Kindle format, specifically skimming for its most impactful passages and core takeaways. He has even floated the possibility of publishing a full review and summary of the Adlerian principles on Get Rich Slowly once he has had time to digest them further.
The themes of the book directly support his decision to reclaim his personal autonomy and step away from external pressures. By examining how individuals construct their lives around the expectations of others rather than their own authentic truths, the text provided validation for his ongoing shift toward radical self-prioritization.
A Values-Driven Life
To anchor these new insights, J.D. highlighted a passage that surfaced in his Readwise highlights from Stephen R. Covey’s classic work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The quote emphasizes the fundamental difference between reactive and proactive living: "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 he had temporarily lost the ability to manage his impulses while becoming disconnected from his core values. Recognizing this drift was the first step toward reclaiming control. He has already begun taking concrete actions to curb daily distractions—such as uninstalled addictive applications like Reddit and Hearthstone from his iPad—in order to create the mental space necessary to put his values back into active practice.
While this new phase may yield shorter, more conversational blog posts rather than traditional, highly structured guides, J.D. remains committed to sharing his journey transparently with his audience. As the age of selfishness commences for Get Rich Slowly, the ultimate goal remains the same: to live authentically, prioritize health and well-being, and share the lessons learned along the way.
