For J.D., the creator of the prominent personal finance platform Get Rich Slowly, the opening weeks of 2023 mark a significant turning point. Following a challenging period marked by personal loss and introspection, he has announced a major shift in focus, officially declaring the upcoming year as “The Year of Me.”
Writing in a candid update to his readers, J.D. explained that his life is finally beginning to settle after a full two months following the death of his mother. With the metaphorical fog having lifted, he reports a renewed sense of motivation to pursue productive endeavors once more. However, rather than immediately diving back into his usual rigorous output of content and project management, he has spent much of the past several weeks engaged in deep soul-searching. Supported by his partner, Kim, he has come to realize that his primary objective moving forward must be to prioritize his own physical and mental well-being above all else.
2023 — The Year of Me
The concept of thematic years is not entirely new to J.D.’s community. More than a decade ago, he established a habit of assigning themes to specific years and months. Describing the practice as both fun and fruitful, he recalled how dedicating specific spans of time to singular focuses—whether fitness, writing, or dating—consistently yielded positive results. Although that disciplined habit eventually fell by the wayside, the underlying philosophy remains intact.
For too long, J.D. admits, he has relegated his own needs to the background, placing himself second, third, or even ninth in priority. Starting immediately, his aim is to invert that dynamic by putting himself first for the foreseeable future. He acknowledges that this shift does not come easily; it feels unnatural, and elements of it still strike him as potentially selfish or wrong. Yet, he recognizes that he has spent too many years allowing external distractions and excuses to interfere with his health and personal development.
Far from viewing this self-prioritization as an act of isolation or neglect toward others, J.D. frames it as a necessary prerequisite for effective engagement with the world. By putting himself first, he believes he is almost certain to become a better person for others, including his readers. While this is a principle he frequently advises to others, translating that knowledge into personal action has proven difficult until now.
For the regular audience of Get Rich Slowly, J.D. suspects the outward changes will be minimal. The primary transformation will take place internally. By granting himself explicit permission to place his own needs and desires ahead of external pressures for 2023, he anticipates that the process will ultimately generate fresh material for future articles and finally bring closure to ongoing site redesign efforts.
At the same time, this internal realignment comes with a notable operational shift: J.D. is deliberately stepping away from rigid publishing or production schedules. Moving forward, if he has something meaningful to say, he will share it; if not, he will refrain from forcing content. This approach mirrors his current update, which was written spontaneously after completing an exercise from the book Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, just moments before a scheduled call with a friend. While he acknowledges that the change is primarily internal, he views it as an essential step toward restoring personal balance.
The Courage to Be Disliked
A major catalyst for this period of reflection occurred around Thanksgiving, when J.D. and Kim drove to California to visit her brother’s family. To pass the time during the long journey, 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 pioneering Austrian thinker Alfred Adler, offers a framework that J.D. suggests might be more accurately titled The Courage to Be Happy.
The audiobook provided a wealth of insights, though J.D. noted the comedic frustration of not being able to easily highlight passages while listening on the road. Many of the core philosophical statements in Adler’s framework require substantial context to fully grasp, a reality that became apparent to both J.D. and Kim as they navigated the material. Consequently, J.D. plans to revisit the text in a Kindle format, selectively skimming the Socratic dialogue to extract the most salient lessons. He has also hinted that a comprehensive review or summary of the book may eventually find its way onto Get Rich Slowly.
A Values-Driven Life
The broader philosophical underpinnings of J.D.’s current transition were further underscored by a highlighted passage from his Readwise app, originally bookmarked months prior but taking on renewed resonance in his present circumstances. Citing Stephen R. Covey’s foundational work The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, J.D. reflected on the distinction 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.”
Recognizing that he had somehow lost control over his impulses while simultaneously drifting away from his core values, J.D. has resolved to flip the script. He has already taken preliminary steps to curb impulsive behaviors by removing digital distractions, such as uninstalling Reddit and Hearthstone from his iPad, allowing him to refocus his energy on translating his core values into daily practice.
While these shifts point toward a more conversational and less structured approach to blogging—with observations and book insights delivered in fluid, essayistic formats rather than rigid, singular guides—J.D. remains committed to the craft of writing. For the duration of the Year of Me, however, this organic style of sharing feels precisely aligned with his personal trajectory.
