After a challenging period marked by personal loss and deep introspection, J.D., the voice behind the personal finance platform Get Rich Slowly, has announced a major shift in focus for the coming year. Following a full two months after the death of his mother, the lingering fog of grief has finally begun to lift, leaving him motivated once again to pursue meaningful and productive endeavors.
The decision comes after weeks of serious soul-searching conducted alongside his partner, Kim. Together, they concluded that J.D. needs to prioritize his own well-being above all else, officially declaring 2023 as "The Year of Me."
This strategic pivot involves breaking away from years of putting his own needs secondary, tertiary, or even lower on his list of priorities. Starting immediately, J.D. aims to place himself first for the foreseeable future, a concept that initially felt uncomfortable and counterintuitive to him.
2023 — The Year of Me
For J.D., the concept of assigning themes to blocks of time is not entirely new. More than a decade ago, he regularly established themes for his years and months, a practice he found both fun and remarkably fruitful. Whether he was channeling his energy into fitness, writing, or dating, dedicating a specific span of time to a single core focus consistently yielded positive results. However, like many lifestyle habits, this practice eventually fell by the wayside.
Reflecting on how he reached this juncture, J.D. noted that he has spent far too long pushing his own physical and mental health to the background while making excuses for the delay. Recognizing that J.D. must become "job one," he is stepping into a period of intentional self-prioritization.
While acknowledging that this approach might initially feel selfish or wrong, J.D. maintains that putting oneself first is often the most effective way to become a better person for others, including his readership. It is a philosophy he has frequently recommended to others, but one he struggled to apply to his own life until now.
For the audience of Get Rich Slowly, J.D. suspects the external impact will be minimal. The changes are primarily internal, granting himself formal permission to place his needs and desires ahead of everything else. This shift is expected to generate fresh material and insights for the website, while finally clearing the path for the completion of the long-awaited site redesign.
However, as part of this self-focused year, J.D. is deliberately stepping away from rigid publishing and production schedules. Rather than forcing content, he intends to write only when he has something genuine to say. This flexible approach allows him to share spontaneous updates, such as reflections following exercises from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans’ book Designing Your Life, without the pressure of traditional blogging constraints.
The Courage to Be Disliked
The thematic groundwork for J.D.’s new mindset was reinforced during a Thanksgiving road trip to California with Kim and her family. To pass the hours on the road, the couple listened to The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. The book, which explores the psychological worldview of Alfred Adler, resonated deeply with them, though J.D. humorously noted it might more accurately be titled The Courage to Be Happy.
Filled with compelling philosophical insights, the audiobook left an impression, though J.D. expressed a minor frustration common to audiobook listeners: the inability to easily highlight physical passages. Because the book is structured as a Socratic dialogue, he plans to revisit the material in Kindle format, skimming specifically for the core concepts and standout takeaways rather than sitting through the entire conversational narrative. He has also floated the possibility of publishing a comprehensive review or summary of the book on Get Rich Slowly at a later date.
A Values-Driven Life
The internal shift toward self-preservation and intentional living was further underscored by a reflection from Stephen R. Covey’s widely read classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Highlighting a passage via his Readwise app, J.D. pointed to Covey’s definition of proactivity: "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."
J.D. candidly admitted that part of the reason he reached a breaking point was his temporary loss of impulse control, coupled with a drift away from his core values. To combat this, he has already taken concrete steps to curb impulsive digital habits, such as uninstalling distracting applications like Reddit and Hearthstone from his iPad. The next phase involves actively realigning his daily actions with his deeply held values.
While this introspection marks a departure from traditional, structured blogging, J.D. remains committed to the Get Rich Slowly community. Future updates may vary in length and style—ranging from short notes to conversational musings—as he navigates a year defined not by external pressures, but by personal growth and authentic alignment.
