Months after navigating a period of profound personal grief, J.D., the founder of the personal finance and lifestyle community Get Rich Slowly, has announced a major shift in focus for the coming year. In a candid update to readers, he revealed that he is entering a period dedicated entirely to his own physical and mental well-being, designating 2023 as "The Year of Me."
The decision comes roughly two months after the death of J.D.’s mother, an event that triggered a heavy emotional fog and a temporary halt to his usual creative and professional productivity. Now, as the grief begins to lift, J.D. reports a renewed sense of motivation to pursue productive pursuits, though with a radically different approach to how he manages his time, energy, and personal boundaries.
Reflecting on the past several weeks of intensive soul-searching, J.D. noted that both he and Kim came to the firm realization that his personal needs have taken a backseat for far too long. For the foreseeable future, making himself the primary priority is no longer just an option, but a necessity.
2023 — The Year of Me
The concept of thematic periods is not entirely new to J.D.’s routine. More than a decade ago, he regularly established themes for specific years and months, a strategy he found both enjoyable and remarkably fruitful. Whether he was channeling his energy into fitness, writing, or dating, dedicating a defined span of time to a single core focus consistently yielded positive results. However, as the years progressed, this productive habit eventually fell by the wayside, replaced by the daily grind of obligations and distractions.
Over time, J.D. found himself sliding further and further down his own priority list—putting his own needs second, third, or even ninth behind everything else. Recognizing that this pattern has compromised his physical and mental health through a series of long-standing excuses, he has drawn a definitive line.
Acknowledging that adopting this mindset initially triggers feelings of selfishness and discomfort, J.D. maintains that prioritizing oneself is a foundational requirement for ultimately becoming a better person for others, including his readership. It is a piece of advice he has frequently offered to friends and followers, yet one he has struggled to apply to his own life until now.
For the readers of Get Rich Slowly, J.D. reassured his audience that the external experience of the site will remain largely unchanged. The transformation is an internal one, granting him the explicit permission to place his own well-being ahead of outside pressures. While this shift is expected to generate fresh insights and fuel future articles on the platform—and finally bring about the long-awaited site de-design—J.D. is deliberately stepping away from rigid publishing and production schedules.
Moving forward, content will be driven by inspiration rather than obligation. Rather than forcing posts, he intends to share updates organically when the time feels right, echoing the spontaneous nature of his latest announcement, which was penned after completing an exercise from the book Designing Your Life while waiting for a friend.
The Courage to Be Disliked
J.D.’s renewed commitment to self-prioritization has been deeply influenced by recent reading material. During a Thanksgiving road trip to California to visit Kim’s family, the couple listened to the audiobook The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. The book explores the psychological framework and worldview of renowned Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler, reframing traditional notions of personal happiness, interpersonal relationships, and societal expectations.
Although navigating the audiobook required adjusting to its unique Socratic dialogue format—a style that J.D. found both engaging and occasionally cumbersome for casual listening—the underlying wisdom left a lasting impression. He noted that the book, which he believes would be more accurately titled The Courage to Be Happy, offered valuable perspectives that he intends to revisit through the Kindle format by selectively skimming for key passages rather than replaying the entire conversational narrative. He also hinted that the insights gained from the text might eventually materialize as a full review or summary on Get Rich Slowly.
A Values-Driven Life
The philosophical shift toward personal sovereignty and intentional living is further reinforced by J.D.’s ongoing engagement with classic personal development literature. Referencing a highlighted passage from Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People via his Readwise account, J.D. highlighted the fundamental distinction between reactive and proactive behavior.
As Covey notes, the true essence of a proactive person lies in the ability to subordinate a fleeting impulse to a deeply held value, whereas reactive individuals remain at the mercy of external feelings, environmental conditions, and changing circumstances. For J.D., realizing that he had inadvertently lost control over his impulses while drifting away from his core values served as a definitive wake-up call.
Already, practical steps have been taken to curb digital distractions and impulsive behaviors, such as removing applications like Reddit and Hearthstone from his iPad. The next phase involves actively aligning his daily actions with carefully chosen and internalized values.
While this new philosophy may transform the traditional cadence of Get Rich Slowly, J.D. remains committed to sharing his journey authentically. Whether future posts are brief check-ins or more expansive conversational essays, the overarching mission of the Year of Me is to establish a sustainable, values-driven foundation for both his personal life and his work.
