In a candid and reflective update to his long-standing readership, J.D. Roth—the founder of the influential personal finance platform Get Rich Slowly—has announced a significant personal pivot. After two months of grieving the loss of his mother and navigating the subsequent emotional fog, Roth is initiating a radical shift in his professional and personal priorities. He has officially designated 2023 as the "Year of Me," a self-prescribed period of intentionality designed to realign his life with his core values rather than external expectations.
The Main Facts: A Shift Toward Radical Self-Prioritization
The core of Roth’s announcement is a deliberate move away from the "people-pleasing" or "service-first" mindset that has characterized his career for over a decade. By his own admission, Roth has spent years placing his own physical and mental well-being on the back burner, often treating his own needs as secondary, tertiary, or even lower in his hierarchy of importance.
"Starting yesterday, my aim is to put myself first for the next year (or more)," Roth stated in his dispatch. This decision is not merely a lifestyle tweak; it is a fundamental shift in his operational philosophy. Roth argues that by reclaiming his own health and mental clarity, he will inevitably become a more effective resource for his readers. He frames this "age of selfishness" not as a dereliction of duty, but as a necessary recalibration to ensure he can continue to provide high-quality content in the long term.
Chronology: From Grief to Intentional Living
The timeline leading to this decision is rooted in a period of profound introspection. The sequence of events leading to the "Year of Me" can be summarized as follows:
- Late 2022: The death of Roth’s mother initiates a period of deep mourning and mental stagnation. For several weeks, the professional drive that defined his career was replaced by a necessary period of "soul-searching."
- November 2022: During a Thanksgiving trip to California, Roth and his partner, Kim, consumed The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. This book served as a catalyst for his new worldview.
- December 2022: Roth begins to actively purge digital distractions, such as Reddit and the game Hearthstone, as a practical step toward regaining control over his time and cognitive energy.
- January 2023: The formal declaration of the "Year of Me" is announced to his audience, signaling a transition from a reactive lifestyle to a values-driven one.
The Philosophical Foundation: The Courage to Be Disliked
A significant portion of Roth’s recent development is attributed to his engagement with Adlerian psychology, specifically through the lens of The Courage to Be Disliked. The book, written in a Socratic dialogue format, challenges the reader to move past the trauma of the past and the expectations of others to achieve true happiness.
Roth notes that while the book’s premise—that one must have the "courage" to potentially be disliked by others in order to be true to oneself—is daunting, it is necessary. The central thesis of the book, which aligns with his new trajectory, suggests that individuals often create "tasks" that are not their own, leading to unnecessary stress and a lack of fulfillment. By detaching from the need to satisfy the expectations of others, Roth believes he can finally focus on the "tasks" that truly matter to his own growth.
Supporting Data: Values-Driven Decision Making
Roth’s commitment to this change is underscored by his adoption of principles from Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Specifically, he cites the distinction between "reactive" and "proactive" living.
- Reactive Behavior: Being driven by fleeting feelings, environmental pressures, and the circumstances of the day.
- Proactive Behavior: The ability to subordinate immediate impulses to long-term, carefully selected core values.
Roth admits that he had slipped into a reactive state, allowing his environment—including the pressures of content creation and digital consumption—to dictate his schedule. His decision to uninstall time-wasting applications from his devices serves as the quantitative evidence of his attempt to move from a reactive state back to a proactive one. He is no longer asking "What do I have to do?" but rather "What aligns with the person I want to be?"
Official Perspectives and Personal Accountability
While the announcement is deeply personal, it carries weight for the community surrounding Get Rich Slowly. Roth addresses the potential concern of his readers directly, noting that while he is removing the pressure of a fixed publishing or production schedule, he does not intend to vanish.
"I’m deliberately not holding myself to any sort of publishing or production schedule around here," Roth explains. "If I have something to say, I’ll say it. If not, I won’t force anything."
This represents a departure from the high-frequency content model common in the personal finance blogging world. Instead of forcing content to meet an algorithm or a quota, Roth is choosing to favor "conversational" updates and high-value, long-form content when the inspiration strikes. He acknowledges that the "de-design" of his website—a long-standing project—will likely benefit from this new, less pressured approach.
Implications for the Future: A New Era of Content
The implications of this shift are twofold. First, for the reader, it means a change in the nature of the content produced on Get Rich Slowly. Readers should anticipate fewer, but perhaps more substantive, pieces that reflect the author’s internal growth rather than surface-level advice. The "Year of Me" is an experimental phase, and the byproduct of this experiment will be the articles that appear on the site.
Second, for the author, the implication is a restoration of mental health. By using tools like Designing Your Life—a curriculum focused on applying design thinking to life planning—Roth is actively constructing a schedule that honors his creative capacity.
Ultimately, this move serves as a case study in burnout recovery and value-based living. By prioritizing himself, Roth is attempting to demonstrate a principle he has long preached: that true financial and personal success is hollow if it is not supported by a foundation of mental well-being and alignment with one’s core values.
As the "Year of Me" progresses, the success of this endeavor will be measured not by revenue or traffic metrics, but by the author’s stated goal of living a life that is proactive, purposeful, and, for the first time in a long time, entirely his own. Whether or not this model proves sustainable remains to be seen, but for now, the transition toward a more intentional, self-prioritizing existence is in full effect.
