Read all about Jonathan.

Read all about Lea.

I created a website for others to download and use my programs in autumn 2001. By that time, I had written several programs for Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Physics, and Statistics. It was a huge success. Within a year, the website had 50,000 page views per month.

I attended college and left the website alone for the next four years. Slowly, its popularity decreased.  I graduated in May 2006 and realized I needed to make money and survive on my own. I became employed as a software engineer.

I finally had some free time to tinker with side projects again. Once I got home from work, I didn’t have any other responsibilities. It was a delightful side effect of being done with school. I added Google ads to my calculator website; it grossed 12 cents that month. I didn’t touch the website for awhile and focused more on creating a life plan for myself.

I started reading voraciously. I read books and blogs about personal finance, career development, how to get rich, photography, relationships, and real estate. I went to a seminar in Las Vegas about “Blogging for Money” by Steve Pavlina in November 2006. I found that Steve and many other bloggers were making thousands (or more) every month from advertisements and product partnerships on their websites.

I brainstormed ways I could make passive income. I thought I might make it by selling photos online, but that didn’t pan out for me. So, I turned to a passive income resource that I already had: my calculator website.

I completely redid my calculator website in April 2007. I used WordPress as my content management system; it is optimized for search right out of the box. I ported all my existing webpage content (program download links, documentation, and screenshots) into blog posts. I wrote clearly worded titles. I researched the hottest placements for Google ads and implemented them on my site.  I made $9.31 that month. I was so excited! I had increased my earnings by nearly 100-fold from a year ago.

I polished the webiste in May and June of 2007.  I added a few helpful articles about how to use the TI-83 calculator. I researched Google Trends for the most popular searches about the TI-83 calculator. “TI-83 games” had four times the number of searches than “TI-83 programs.” So I added links to the most popular TI-83 games.

That sure grew the breadth of my site’s search space. You could find me for both “TI-83 programs” and “TI-83 games.” I effectively quadrupled my website’s popularity by adding some content about games; and therefore I quadrupled my website’s potential ad revenue.

My online income steadily grew over the next few months. It hit $186.77 in September 2007. It decreased as the school year drew on. It hovered around $50/month throughout the spring and summer of 2008. It hit $282.72 in September 2008. It decreased a little in October, and it will probably continue to decrease until next September. But one thing is clear: my calculator website is a dependable passive income source.

My calculator website continues to earn me money without my intervention. I haven’t touched the site since July 3, 2007. I probably worked on the site for 24 hours from April to July 2007, when I redid the site.  I have made $1500 since then.  Not a bad sum for three days of work. And I continue to receive checks from Google every month.

My next goal is to grow my passive income enough that I can survive on it. I probably won’t touch my calculator website anymore because I haven’t used a TI-83 calculator in six years. I’m not interested in that topic anymore.  My passion has shifted to travel, history, wealth, health, programming and relationships. I plan to make money from this website. I may create other information websites about topics that I’m passionate.  I also hope to make a software product someday—in my own startup company.

I found his blog in June 2007. At the time, I was developing software in a cold, gray office for a large corporation.  It was my first job out of college, and I realized that this was not how I wanted to live. I thought there must be a better way to earn a living.

When I found his blog through Brazen Careerist, I was curious.  How could someone travel continuously for years? It sounded like a lot of fun. His blog was certainly a fun read. I spent the following nights reading through his travel blog. I lived vicariously through him. I analyzed how and why he did it.  I became obsessed with the idea of traveling abroad and working online.

I resolved to travel abroad sometime in 2009.  I began taking actions in that direction.  I left the big corporation for a small tech startup in July 2007.   I paid off my credit cards and put a dent in my student loans. I started saving for my big trip.  I started telling people that I would travel abroad in 2009. I attracted world travelers into my life.

I tested the waters of world travel in December 2007. I backpacked solo through central Mexico for ten days. It was my first time backpacking and traveling abroad by myself. I flew from my home in Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  I traveled overland to Mexico City, stopping at Guadalajara, Morelia, and Angangueo along the way.  I successfully made it to Mexico City for my return flight. I learned the logistics of backpacking and became confident in my ability to travel long-term.

I gained a lot of good memories. I partied; I listened to other travelers’ stories; I saw butterflies and birds in harmony with nature; I met a local girl at the Mexico City zoo and spent a romantic day with her. I had fun on that trip, and I solidified my desire to travel abroad.

I focused on personal growth in the first half of 2008. I learned as much as I could about working with passion, personal strengths, personal finance, and the wealthy mindset. I improved my health; I started eating right and exercising daily. I reduced my body fat from 14% to 7% over four months. I stopped hanging out with people who I didn’t resonate with anymore. I met new people who shared my world traveling desire.

I profiled several digital nomads in July and August 2008. I read their entire blogs and e-books, if they had one. I analyzed how they managed to make money online while traveling abroad. I planned to share my findings with aspiring digital nomads; hence, I created teleboho.com.

I plan to begin my journey next year. I’m tenatively looking at March 2009, but I haven’t booked a ticket yet. I will buy a ticket about two months before I leave.  I will go to Southeast Asia for several months. I will start in Thailand and travel in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. I’m excited to start a new chapter of my life.

I, too, will be leaving a stable software job, like Ali Watters did.  I will become self-employed. I will publish websites and earn ad revenue. I will do freelance programming. I will create a software product of my own. I am already making online ad revenue with another site, and I’ll have three years of professional software developing experience by the time I start my trip. So, I am confident in my ability to earn a living by making money online.

I plan to give back to the digital nomad community.  I created teleboho.com to be an educational and networking tool for current and aspiring digital nomads. I’m sure it will be entertaining, too! I will write about how to become a digital nomad, and why someone would want to become one. I will write about the problems that digital nomads face and how to overcome them. I hope that I inspire, educate, and help other digital nomads connect.