After navigating a period of profound personal loss and extensive soul-searching, J.D., the founder of the personal finance community Get Rich Slowly, has announced a major shift in focus for the upcoming year. Two months after the passing of his mother, J.D. shared with his readers that the lingering fog of grief has finally begun to lift, renewing his motivation to engage in productive pursuits and reevaluate his life’s priorities.
In a candid update posted to the site, J.D. revealed that with the support of his partner, Kim, he has decided to designate 2023 as "The Year of Me." This strategic pause marks a deliberate pivot toward prioritizing his own mental and physical well-being after years of consistently placing his personal needs at the bottom of his priority list.
2023 — The Year of Me
The concept of dedicating specific spans of time to singular themes is not new to J.D., who utilized the strategy successfully over a decade ago. In the past, applying focused intention to areas such as fitness, writing, and dating yielded significant and fruitful results. However, this habit eventually fell by the wayside as daily responsibilities and external demands took precedence.
Reflecting on his current state, J.D. acknowledged that he has spent far too long putting himself second, third, or even ninth in his own life. Reversing this pattern has required overcoming initial feelings of selfishness and guilt. For the foreseeable future, however, his primary objective is to treat his own well-being as the top priority.
Despite the internal focus, J.D. reassured readers of Get Rich Slowly that the core experience of engaging with the platform will remain largely unchanged. While the transformation is primarily internal, he anticipates that this renewed sense of self-care will ultimately make him a better person for those around him and provide richer, more authentic fodder for future articles. The shift will also pave the way for the long-awaited completion of the site’s ongoing redesign.
At the same time, J.D. is deliberately stepping away from rigid publishing schedules and production quotas. Rather than forcing content to meet arbitrary deadlines, he plans to write organically, sharing insights only when inspiration strikes. This flexible approach was directly reflected in the creation of his latest update, which was drafted following a personal life-design exercise and just moments before a scheduled call with a friend.
The Courage to Be Disliked
The philosophical foundation for J.D.’s new direction was reinforced during a Thanksgiving road trip to California with Kim and her family. To pass the time on the drive, the couple listened to the audiobook The Courage to Be Disliked by authors Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. The book, which explores the psychological worldview of Alfred Adler—a thinker J.D. believes would be more accurately represented by a title like The Courage to Be Happy—offered a wealth of perspective.
Although the audiobook format made it difficult to highlight passages on the fly, the core messages resonated deeply with J.D. and Kim. Written in the traditional style of a Socratic dialogue, the book presents complex psychological concepts that initially required context to fully grasp. Recognizing the value of the material, J.D. plans to revisit the text in a digital Kindle format, selectively skimming for the most impactful takeaways rather than sitting through every conversational exchange. He also noted the strong possibility of publishing a comprehensive review or summary of the book on Get Rich Slowly at a later date.
A Values-Driven Life
The journey toward self-prioritization has also been shaped by a renewed focus on core values rather than fleeting impulses. J.D. highlighted a passage from Stephen R. Covey’s foundational work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which surfaced through his Readwise highlights: "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 temporarily lost command over his impulses while drifting away from his foundational values, J.D. has already begun taking concrete steps to realign his daily habits. Practical measures, such as uninstalling distracting applications like Reddit and Hearthstone from his iPad, represent the early phases of this behavioral reset.
While future updates on the platform may vary in length and structure—ranging from concise reflections to conversational updates akin to his recent post—the overarching mission of Get Rich Slowly remains intact. By centering his own health and values in 2023, J.D. aims to cultivate a sustainable balance that serves both his personal life and his loyal readership.
