He trekked to Everest Base Camp, skydived, paraglided in the Indian Himalayas, saw orangutans in Borneo, got drunk at Oktoberfest, spent a night in a cell in Ukraine, travelled more than 100 countries… list just does not stop. And there are so many things on his wish list, he wants to do, see and have his breath taken away. He is now 29 years old, traveling since 2006. He lives his dream life. He is inspiring, full of energy, goal-oriented Johnny Ward.
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It was 3 a.m. I woke up just to catch him. Probably he does not know where he’ll be the next day. I turned on my computer and got on Skype. After a week of chasing finally we could hear each other. Cute nice guy with short lightly brown hair appeared on a screen. His eyes are full of life and his words are enthusiastic, no matter what is he talking about. Born in Ireland he spent his childhood in a small single parent family. In a “small, shitty town”, as he said, they were quite poor. However, his mother wanted her son and daughter to have the best education. So he left Ireland to go study finance and economics to England when he was 18. And since then he has been traveling round the world. Now he earns a lot; he has 10, 11 people working for him and he only works a couple of hours a day. This is a story about following passion. This is a story about success.
Everybody can fulfil his or hers dreams, just like Johnny did. How did all started? Read on and be impressed.
Why did you decided to travel? When did you go ‘on the road’ for the first time?
Even when I was a kid I always talked about how I want to travel. Then it was my plan to take a gap year, but I couldn’t afford it. My mom couldn’t help me either. Also she was worried if I do that before I finish University, I will never come back to do my degree. And she was right. When I went, I never came back. I wanted to travel since I was a kid. I come from a small town, where only 5 or 6 thousand people live, it is boring and there is nothing to do. So I always dreamed of something bigger.
And then one day you’ve just decided not to live ‘normal life’? What contributed to the decision?
Because I grew up quite poor, I wanted to be reach. I think that is normal for poor kids. So I studied Economics, because I wanted to work in London in a bank and be a millionaire. Once I graduated I thought to go overseas for one year and teach English in Asia. And then come back to London and make my fortune. Just after two months I did my teaching qualification in Thailand. I got a contract to teach in China. However, I fell in love with Thailand, cancelled my contract and after a month I realised I do not want to be miserable worker in an office, working for a boring manager and do the same thing every day. So then I started traveling and knew I was never going back.
What about visas? How can you stay in foreign countries for so long?
It’s mostly tourist visas. I had also cultural exchange visa for USA where I worked for few months. In Australia, I was there for almost a year, I had working holiday visa. Other than that it’s just tourist visas. Now, when my business is quite successful I do not have to worry about money and stuff anymore. But two, three years ago it was a bit of a problem. Now I can fly anywhere I want. Then I really had to think: “Shit, my visa expires tomorrow; I have to fly somewhere tomorrow.”
So how do you make your living? Is it that easy as you describe it on your web page?
Now I have round 90 websites. I have 10, 11 people working for me. All I have to do is manage them. I work a couple hours a day from my laptop. That is OK. My most famous website is
http://onestep4ward.com, which is about my life.
What advice would you give to young travellers who would like to change their lifestyle and make it more similar to yours?
I would say you just follow your passion. Forget about what people tell you should do. Forget about what society thinks you should do. You need to work out what makes you happy. And if traveling makes you happy… than travel. Follow that passion; success, business will come later. Just do what you want to do and do it with all your heart. Do not worry what’s going to happen in ten years. We do not even know we’ll be around in ten years. Do it now and all will fall into place. I’ve been traveling since 2006 and first 4 years I was broke but still really happy. I stayed with my passion long enough and then you can work out how to build your life around that. I read one quote that says: “Do what you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” I really believe that. I feel that that is my situation and anyone can have that situation.
I saw your ‘wish list’ – things you want to do, see, experience. You are quite good at scoring out the things you’ve already did. Was that list your fuel or power to continue when thing gone badly?
Not really, that list gets bigger every day. I should update it a little bit more. A lot of travel bloggers don’t do much. They go to Thailand, drink and start a travel blog. That doesn’t help anyone. They haven’t done anything exciting, they haven’t achieved anything. So I guess with my site, I want people to see, I’ve done cool stuff. If I say something, you can trust me, because I’ve done this cool stuff for years.
Which places you’ve visited made the strongest impression?
This is quite confusing for my. My first really different country was Thailand, which is super touristic. Now I bought an apartment in Bangkok and this is my base. Now I am in Malaysia. I always wondered if I love Thailand that much cause it was my first stop or cause is the best country. I can never answer that. That is my favourite country to live. I study the language, I love the food, the culture, everything. If you really want to travel, it is not the best destination as it’s all a big party.
Did you have any bad experiences?
As long as you don’t get permanently injured, I don’t think any experience is bad. Although I have a permanent injury, I broke my leg in Thailand. I’ve been arrested in a few countries, but in 99% are just local policemen trying to take money from you, not that you’ve done anything wrong. The world is much safer than people think. If I die on the road, it will be in a car crash, in a shitty local bus crash. But people aren’t dangerous, people are cool.
What would be your message to all youngsters who are thinking to go but are still gathering courage?
If you do not have a rich family, you have to find a way how to make money online or find a job overseas. That is if you really want to travel more than a month or two. There are holiday working visas for Hong Kong, Canada and Australia. That is really cool thing, I did it as well. Now, if I could talk to my younger self, when I was 22, I would say to read about how to make money online. You can travel as much as you want, or live anywhere in the world as long as you have your laptop and internet connection. It’s a beautiful thing.
What about your love life?
Historically I haven’t been a boyfriend kind of guy. However, now I am in a happy relationship. She is a flight attendant and that is quite appropriate for my girl. But it is really difficult, because I travel at least 6 months a year.
Where do you sleep when you travel? Hostels?
My financial situation has now changed. Before that I always slept in hostels. I do not love the dorm culture, but I’ve stayed in hundreds of dorms. They are necessary in Western, expensive countries. Generally I stay in hostels, now in a private room. There is no fun traveling the world and staying in hotels. Hostels are cool, fun places to party and meet people.
Did you have any crisis? How did you beat the moments of weakness?
I grew up poor and even now, when money is not an issue, I am frugal. Generally I spend as little as possible. Do I have a budget? Not really. Even when I had nothing in a bank, I travelled in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal... Every time you eat or drink you have to buy the cheapest thing and take the lowest class bus. Now it is not so dramatic but I still think of what is the cheapest way to do this and that. That is also the funniest way to travel.
One sentence that describes you or your life the best is.
I am very independent. I have a problem with authority, so I have to find my own way to be successful. I can’t have people telling me what to do. I found my way and now I have it.
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