After navigating a period of profound personal grief and deep introspection, J.D., the founder of the prominent personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly, has announced a major shift in his personal and professional trajectory. Two months following the passing of his mother, J.D. reports that the mental fog is finally beginning to lift, sparking a renewed sense of motivation to reengage with productive pursuits.
Central to this new chapter is a deliberate and introspective initiative: making 2023 "The Year of Me." Supported by his partner, Kim, J.D. has recognized that after years—potentially decades—of consistently prioritizing external demands, obligations, and the expectations of others, he must consciously turn his focus inward to restore his physical and mental well-being.
2023 — The Year of Me
For long-time readers of Get Rich Slowly, the concept of assigning a theme to a span of time is a familiar one. More than a decade ago, J.D. regularly practiced thematic living, dedicating specific months or years to singular focus areas such as fitness, writing, or dating. He recalls those experiments as both remarkably fun and profoundly fruitful, yielding significant personal growth and tangible results. However, as the demands of life accumulated, that habit eventually fell by the wayside.
Reflecting on recent years, J.D. acknowledges a hard truth: he has spent too much time placing himself second, third, or even ninth in his own priority list. Starting immediately, his aim is to invert that hierarchy, putting his own needs first for the foreseeable future.
Admitting that this shift initially feels uncomfortable, J.D. notes that prioritizing oneself can often carry an unfair stigma of being selfish or wrong. Yet, he recognizes that by constantly allowing outside distractions and obligations to interfere with his health, he has relied on excuses for too long. For the upcoming year, J.D. is stepping into the primary role in his own life, operating under the philosophy that nurturing oneself ultimately equips an individual to be a better, more present contributor to others, including his dedicated readership.
For the audience of Get Rich Slowly, J.D. reassures readers that the core experience of the platform will remain largely unchanged. The primary evolution is internal, characterized by a deliberate granting of permission to prioritize his own health and desires. This personal renewal is expected to generate fresh insights and fodder for future content, while finally paving the way for the completion of the long-awaited site redesign.
At the same time, J.D. is intentionally stepping away from rigid publishing schedules or production quotas. Moving forward, he intends to write organically—sharing thoughts when inspiration strikes and avoiding forced content when it does not. This flexible approach is already shaping his routine, allowing him to weave personal reflections directly into his daily schedule between life exercises and conversations with friends.
The Courage to Be Disliked
The philosophical foundations for this current period of self-reflection were reinforced during a recent Thanksgiving road trip to California to visit Kim’s family. To pass the hours on the drive, the couple listened to the audiobook The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga, a work that explores the psychological framework and worldview of renowned Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler.
The book resonated deeply with J.D., offering profound insights into human behavior, interpersonal relationships, and personal autonomy, though he humorously notes that the work could just as accurately be titled The Courage to Be Happy. Presented in the traditional style of a Socratic dialogue, the book sparked extensive discussions between J.D. and Kim as they unpicked complex concepts regarding self-acceptance and the pursuit of a meaningful life.
Finding the audiobook format less than ideal for reference purposes—due to the inability to easily highlight key passages—J.D. plans to revisit the material in a digital Kindle format, intending to skim through the Socratic conversations to extract the core philosophical takeaways. He has also hinted that these reflections may eventually materialize into a comprehensive review or summary published directly on Get Rich Slowly.
A Values-Driven Life
To ground these ongoing transitions, J.D. recently revisited a highlighted passage from his digital reading archive, originating from Stephen R. Covey’s foundational work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The quote emphasizes the critical distinction between reactive and proactive behavior, noting that the essence of a proactive individual lies in the ability to subordinate a fleeting impulse to a deeply considered, internalized value.
This insight struck a profound chord regarding J.D.’s current life stage. He admits that one of the primary drivers for instituting the "Year of Me" is a recognition that he had temporarily lost command over his impulses while drifting away from his core values. To counteract this drift, he has already begun taking concrete, practical steps to reclaim his focus—such as removing distracting applications like Reddit and Hearthstone from his iPad.
By actively reining in reactive impulses, J.D. is realigning his daily actions with his fundamental principles. While the format of his output on Get Rich Slowly may shift toward shorter, more conversational, and compartmentalized updates rather than exhaustive long-form guides, the underlying commitment to personal growth and authenticity remains entirely intact as he navigates this transformative year.
