Welcome New Readers!

Raam on 2010-02-23 There has been a recent increase in the number of new vistors and RSS subscribers and I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and welcome you all.

My name is Raam Dev and I'm a twenty-something searching for purpose and meaning to life. I'm an aspiring writer, runner, solo-entrepreneur, photographer, and geek. If you want to see what that guy on the left looks like as a three-year-old, see the about page. 🙂

I've been a landlord, software engineer, IT support technician, carpenter, business owner, and even a mad scientist. I love simplicity and minimalism.

Currently, I'm in the process of transitioning to a nomadic lifestyle and I invite you to follow my journey.

I'm still ironing out the details, but here's the rough plan: I'm headed to India in about three weeks with nothing more than what will fit in a 30 liter backpack.

By the time I leave, I will have gotten rid of my pickup truck and nearly all my possessions. I will live a minimalist and frugal life, soaking up new experiences and sharing them here on my blog with the goal of inspiring and motivating my readers.

In addition to photography, I have a passion for hiking and nature (I thoroughly enjoy being engulfed by the remote wilderness and I have no problem with isolation), so you can expect to read about and see many of the interesting places I visit.

If you enjoy reading about new perspectives, personal development, travel, entrepreneurship, personal branding, or ways to make an income online, you've come to the right place. If you want to be motivated or inspired, or if you're passionate about discarding the status quo in favor of living life on your own terms, you will enjoy this blog.

I've been blogging since 2002 and there are over a thousand posts here. I'm in the process of reorganizing things and making them more accessible, so please bare with me.

I've committed myself to publishing at least one post per week, usually posted on Monday or Friday. If you're looking for more frequent updates, I suggest you follow me on Twitter. Also, don't forget to subscribe to my RSS feed to stay updated.

If you have a moment, please drop me a message using one of the methods on my contact page. I'd love to hear from you!

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11 Comments

  1. You are an inspiration indeed. I’ve been thinking about a similar way of living. However, it takes courage and guts to make such a decision and I’m not quite there yet. I look forward hearing more from your travels in India!

    • Thank you, Bart!

      The lifestyle is something you can ease into… you don’t need to take drastic action right away. It’s also very much a mindset. You need to want to eliminate clutter and eliminate the unnecessary from your life… whatever it may be!

      It does take courage, but we only have a limited amount of time in our life to take action. What have we got to lose?

      If there’s ever any specific questions I can answer, please feel free to send me an email (you can use the form on the contact page) and I will help to the best of my ability (I might even turn the answer into a blog post!).

  2. Hi Raam!

    I’m glad that I stumbled upon your site. I’ve always been curious about becoming nomadic, how are you planning on making enough money to survive?

    I bet that will be a fantastic experience. I can’t wait to hear all about it!

    • Hey Neal!

      I’m planning to live very frugally and very simply. I have several marketable skills that I can use to make money online doing freelance work, and I intend to do just that (specifically PHP, WordPress, and Social Media skills, but I also intend to start writing for various blogs).

      Initially, I’m starting with a budget of $1500 for six months — that’s $250 a month. In India, that should be a little tight, but entirely doable. I don’t plan to just do “nothing” for six months — I’ll start by trying to make at least $250 per month through freelance work and through online ventures. If I can do that, then I’ll at least be able to support myself for traveling around India.

      But I won’t stop there. That’s just a short-term goal. 🙂

      I’m still working out all the details and I’m intentionally not planning very much until I’m in India. You can expect entire posts on the subject of funding my travels.

      Thanks for the comment and the support!

  3. Hey Raam! I know I found your site a few months ago but I just wanted to warn your new readers that following your site may lead to extreme levels of inspiration and drastic life changes!

    Looking forward to your India adventures my friend.

    • Haha, thank you for the kind words, Earl!

      I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading about the various adventures you’ve documented on your blog — they have been a huge inspiration for me. I can only hope to gain as much travel experience as you have!

      I’m looking forward to sharing my India adventures! 🙂