Two months after the death of his mother, personal finance writer J.D. of Get Rich Slowly has announced a major personal shift, officially declaring 2023 to be "The Year of Me." In a candid update to his readers, the long-running blogger shared that the heavy fog of grief has finally begun to lift, leaving him motivated to re-engage with productive pursuits and prioritize his own physical and mental well-being after years of putting himself last.
Reflecting on the past several weeks of serious soul-searching, J.D. noted that both he and Kim came to the firm realization that his personal health and happiness needed to take center stage. More than a decade ago, J.D. regularly practiced the habit of assigning themes to his years and months—a strategy he found both fun and fruitful for milestones involving fitness, writing, and dating. However, that structured habit eventually fell by the wayside as other responsibilities and distractions took over.
Admitting that he has spent far too long placing himself second, third, or even ninth on his own priority list, the author stated that his aim moving forward is to put himself first for the foreseeable future. He acknowledged that making this shift feels inherently difficult, noting that it can initially feel selfish or wrong. Yet, after years of making excuses and allowing external factors to interfere with his health, he has decided that J.D. must become "job one."
Despite the focus on selfishness, J.D. reassured his audience that prioritizing his own needs will ultimately make him a better person for those around him, including his readers. It is a piece of advice he has frequently offered to others over the years, though he admits he struggled to act on it himself until now.
For the regular readers of Get Rich Slowly, J.D. suspects the daily experience of the site will remain largely unchanged. The true transformation is happening internally, though he anticipates that his renewed focus will naturally generate fresh fodder for future articles and finally bring about the long-awaited site de-design. At the same time, he is deliberately lifting any rigid publishing or production schedules from his shoulders. Going forward, he intends to speak only when he has something meaningful to say rather than forcing content, echoing the spontaneous nature of his latest update, which was written during a pocket of free time following a life-design exercise.
The Courage to Be Disliked
During a Thanksgiving road trip to California to visit Kim’s brother and his family, the couple sought to pass the time by listening to the audiobook The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. The book, which J.D. suggests might be more accurately titled The Courage to Be Happy, explores the psychological worldview of Alfred Adler.
Encountering a wealth of wisdom throughout the listening experience, J.D. expressed a common frustration felt by audiobook enthusiasts—the inability to easily highlight key passages on the fly. As a result, he plans to revisit the material in Kindle format, specifically skimming to extract the standout takeaways. Because the book is structured as a Socratic dialogue, he prefers to skip past the bulk of the conversation to focus entirely on the core philosophical gems. He also hinted that a full review and summary of the book could eventually make its way onto Get Rich Slowly.
A Values-Driven Life
To punctuate his reflections on self-care and intentional living, J.D. highlighted a passage that resurfaced in his digital reading logs from Stephen R. Covey’s renowned book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The quote emphasizes that the essence of a proactive person lies in the ability to subordinate a momentary impulse to a deeply held value, whereas reactive individuals are driven primarily by fleeting feelings, external circumstances, and environment.
J.D. noted that losing control over his impulses while simultaneously drifting away from his core values is precisely what led him to the current juncture where a dedicated "Year of Me" is necessary. Recognizing the need to flip the script, he has already taken proactive steps to curb digital distractions, such as uninstalling distracting applications like Reddit and Hearthstone from his iPad.
While the approach to his blog and creative output may look different over the coming months—favoring shorter, more conversational reflections over rigidly structured tutorials—J.D. remains committed to sharing his journey authentically as he steps firmly into a values-driven life.
