The purpose of my blog is to chronicle my travels and my lifestyle in the hope that it will inspire other people to realise how easy it is to live the life you want to live right now. I’m on the way to visiting every country in the world, check out my progress here.
Starting a travel blog changed my life, it allowed me to live like this, from being a broke English teacher, to making over $1million USD from blogging, and buying properties in London and Bangkok, now I’m free. If you want to know how to start a travel blog, and do the same thing as me, check out how to do that here.
I know it’s scary to leave the secure life we know behind us but if we truly want to live our dreams we have to ignore what people think we should be doing and actually do what we dream to do. That is the essence of Lifestyle Design. Through this, since graduating from university in 2006, I have :
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Lived in 6 different countries on 4 different continents
Traveled extensively through more 100 countries…
Took the TransSiberian train across Russia
Watched a camel sacrifice in Khartoum, Sudan
Cage dived with great white sharks
Trekked mountain gorillas in Rwanda
Created an online income to become location independent
Commenced and paid for my Masters (deferred since my online business took off)
Ridden camels through the Thar desert on the India/Pakistani border
Went to the ice festival, at -35 degrees (-31 farenheit), in Harbin, North Eastern China
Presented a Thai Travel TV Show in Asia
Crossed the Arctic Circle in Lapland (and visited the ‘real’ Santa!)
Witnessed an exorcism in Mongolia
Watched Usain bolt break the world record at the Beijing Olympics (China, 2008)
Hot-air ‘balloned’ over the Nile for sunrise
Hiked to Mount Everest Base Camp, Nepal
Studied and completed my Cambridge university TEFL English teaching qualification
Attended a World Cup Final (Johannesburg, South Africa 2010)
Stayed in the slums of Bangladesh
Climbed the tallest building in the world in the United Arab Emirates
Eaten fugu (the infamous, expensive deadly blowfish) in Japan
Scubadived in the great barrier reef
Hiked to the Tiger’s Nest Temple in Bhutan
Hit 50 degrees (122 farenheit) in Doha, Qatar
Fed hyenas mouth to mouth in Ethiopia
Took an armed guard with me in Somaliland, Somalia
Taken a helicopter to untouched glaciers in New Zealand
Taken political tours in Belfast
Swam in the lowest place in the world – The Dead Sea, Jordan (and Israel)
Attended a house party in Kazakhstan
Road horses through the Gobi Desert
Stayed with a tribe in Papua New Guinea
Partied in a UN compound in East Timor
Saw the Northern Lights in Iceland
Visited Dracula’s castle in Transylvania
Bungeed at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Climbed Mount Kinabalu, Borneo
Ate in the oldest restaurant in the world in Madrid
Visited the Holyland in Jerusalem (Israel/Palestine)
Bought an aparment in Bangkok, Thailand mortgage free
‘Worked’ in USA, Korea, Australia and Thailand
Watched people mourning Kim Jong-Il in North Korea
Rafted at the source of the Nile in Africa
Studied in Thailand and Malaysia
Learned another language (x 2 – Thai & French – still learning)
Taken a Chinese cargo boat the length of the Mekong river through Burma to China
Wandered alone through the pyramids in Sudan
Got drunk at Oktoberfest in Munich
Climbed the CN tower in Toronto
Smoked in Amsterdam
Set-up a company to help other people change their lives
Watched a live volcano spit out lava in Vanuatu
Drunk snake’s blood in Taiwan
Got blessed by monks on a train to Mandalaay, Burma
Watched Messi score twice at the Nou Camp, Barcelona
Made more friends than I can count 🙂
White-water rafted, go-karted, rock climbed, paintballed and been sightseeing in endless countries etc etc etc etc..
Honestly, this is not any attempt at bragging because I am nothing special, just an average guy who wanted to live his life to the fullest imaginable degree. So I have chosen to do that and, if you really want, so can you.
So forget about keeping up with the Jones’, forget about choosing the charcoal-grey tie ahead of the night-black one, forget about being micromanaged, forget about clicking through other peoples facebook photos and feeling jealous, forget about the feeling on a sunday night when you don’t want to fall asleep because when you wake you’re off to work again. Live the life you want before it’s gone right past you.
If you have any questions, queries or need any extra motivation to take the plunge feel free to:
email me on johnny ‘at’ onestep4ward.com (I respond to all of my emails personally, normally within 48 hours)
‘Like’ my facebook page and my Instgram Page
Follow me on twitter
~ Go confidently in the direction of your Dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined ~ Henry David Thoreau
~ He who spends time regretting the past loses the present and risks the future ~ Quevedo
~ And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years ~ Abraham Lincoln
NOTE: If you’re still wondering what lifestyle design is – click HERE
As you know, blogging changed my life. I left Ireland broke, with no plan, with just a one-way ticket to Thailand and no money. Since then, I started a blog, then a digital media company, I’ve made more than $1,500,000 USD, bought 4 properties and visited (almost) every country in the world. And I did it all from my laptop as I travel the world and live my dream.
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You are so luck to see many place.soon i am planing to see a few places.Love traveling
You are an inspiration Johnny!
I’m literally getting shivers reading through this list and thinking back on my own memories!! Harbin ice festival, sky diving (mine was lake Taupo, NZ), TEFL qualification, Everest BC, Orangutans in Borneo….
…I literally can’t wait till my blog starts to get successful and earning a bit of money!!
Thank you for re-igniting my motivation!! 🙂
Zoe
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Just stumbled across your blog and fell in love. Wow! It’s crazy to see how you live your life to the max. Such and inspiration. I will definitely be coming back and visiting. Good luck!
Hey Jonny,
Just wanted to let you know how much your site inspired me. My story is not so much different than your own, though I don’t have a country count anywhere near yours, I have spent about 4 years abroad and we’re of similar age… even think we probably crossed paths at some point.
Anyway, reading how you’ve become location independent thanks to this site (and others) motivated me to get my own going. (http://stepupdivein.com… I know that seems close to yours, but there’s a story behind the name, promise :))
I’m still quite green, but have been getting a lot of great feedback and after my next teaching stint, I’m hoping that it will become my primary source of income.
Anyway, just wanted to throw out a big thank you for encouraging me to push this envelope.
Cheerz mate,
Jonny
Great blog. While I sit at my cubicle, I feel a wrench in my stomach knowing that this is not what I pictured for my life…HOWEVER, my boyfriend and I are in the planning/saving page for our own adventure, leaving May of next year. This post really hit home for me, especially the part about “forget about the feeling on a Sunday night when you don’t want to fall asleep because when you wake you’re off to work again. Live the life you want before it’s gone right past you.” But the thing is, right now this cubicle job is a means to an end. We will be living our dreams in 6 months’ time and we really can’t wait! So inspiring to see other people out there who feel the same way about life being too short and the world being too big and the status quo being too BORING!
Peace,
Stephie
This is sick man! I’ll definitely be coming back to your blog. I’m very interesting in traveling.
Dude this is such a cool blog. It’s like a personalised version of Nat Geo Adventure – love it. What invaluable expereinces and I get so excited about this great planet just looking at your pics – wish I took a year off to do some of the crazy stuff you’ve done. Well done mate!
Shout out from Singapore. Come swing by our over organised society again some time. Bring your own chewing gum please.
As Johnny Walker says, Keep Walking!
Johnny,
Wow, thats one hell of a site. A lot of content. Love the writing style btw.
I have to ask, how it is that you can afford to do all of this? We run a number of websites inlcuding the newest venture of asiasoutheast (as listed). We plan and hope to continue to travel around South East Asia whilst working. All that glitters is not golden, and with google’s changes it is hard for the small fish.
I have to ask how do you do it, what sort of a support team do you have around you? Given I read that you do not spend that much time on the computer and that you arent hugely internet literate in terms of the technical side of things…. I adit neither am I – I add content and deal with the media side of things, but my partner is the computer and internet whizz.
I love your site and keep finding such brilliant articles. Just wanting some advice from you, given we want to keep moving (just like you), but at this rate, will find it impossible to keep doing so (eventually the well will run dry)….
Many thanks for your time, I look forward to hearing from you, hope you are loving OZ.
Kate B
PS: NZ is a must, but see if you can make time for the North too. South is amazing!! The kiwi’s are just great people! You will love it!
I love to see how others incorporate lifestyle design. Our dreams aren’t much about travel — I don’t even like to travel that much. But in having freedom to pursue things form our corner of the world.
Good luck in your endeavors.
Thanks so much Alison!
Found your site while looking up info on Pai in Thailand and love it – extremely inspirational, thank you! The guide to Chiang Mai and what to do and avoid is great, my friends and I will be making full use of it. Maybe see you there?
Hey Jane,
Maybe, but i spend more of my time in BKK now – when are u guys here? 🙂
johnny
Love the blog don’t know how I got here lol. I’ll stick to daydreaming in the office being a accountancy professional with a young child. Still Ive been to Nigeria, Bermuda, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Europe, US etc so can’t complain 😉 I’ll have to wait till the sprog grows up before planning further afield (Iceland for me next)
hey amanda, sounds like you’re doing ok yourself! 🙂
Always nice reading your updates Johnny. I’m still gutted I’m not in NZ when you finally travel to Kiwiland! Anyway, you continue to inspire people and that’s one of the really good qualities you have; you remain down to earth and humble – don’t ever change! 🙂 All the best! GO 1-0-0!! 😉 Oh yeah!
awww thanks Tin! I’ll be there around the end of April i think, can’t wait – although I think i’m just going to the South Island, is that a good idea?!
It definitely is a good idea! 🙂 I personally prefer the South Island than the North. The South is more “untouched” and of course, you don’t want to miss the bungee in Queenstown!
Hi Johnny,
Reading your blog ‘spiked’ me to really go all the way this year. I have made some plans and won’t be turning back, no matter what.
good stuff Niel, hope it all works out mate 🙂
You are amazing!! what an incredible run in the las few years!! keep it going, every time I read your blog I feel more desire of continue traveling.. Love your blog.. good luck!!
cheers Nicolas mate, just trying to follow my dreams mate 🙂 good luck with yours too!
Is it bad that mainly from this I was left wondering why you’d want to sleep in Chernobyl?
But you know I love you and am amazingly envious so I’m not going to repeat that.
haha, maybe that wasn’t such a smart move – the geiger counter was going off the scale 😛