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My 2025 Goals and plans for the year

Woah I’m busy. And already late on my 2025 resolutions. You know this year, it’s been a weird process writing my 2025 plans. Way back, since 2012, all the way up to the 2024 plan blog post, I’ve had ONE BIG LIFE GOAL to work on. Originally from 2012-2017, it was to be the first Irish person to visit every country. Which I managed. Then from 2017-2024, it was to be the first person to complete the ULTIMATE EXPLORER’S GRAND SLAM, which I finished up in January 2024, one year ago.

So where does that leave me now?

When I finished my journey to every country, I got depressed. I was drinking every day, feeding my sugar habit, and got fat. My business went to hell, so did the blog, and I was losing money every month. It was the lowest time of my life, when I expected to feel the best. So I moved onto the 7 summits, with Everest being my focus, and of course the North and South Pole.

This time, I was more prepared for the come-down after chasing and reaching my life goal. So no depression, not too much booze, and the waistline slightly less bloated! How? For a start, experience from 2017. And secondly I had a plan in place. I had turned 40 and my short term goals were ready for the next chapter. Namely, starting a family (and we did it!) and staying my endurance events to push other people out of their comfort zone, and into a zone of self love too (and we did that with the first edition of the Eye of the Sahara Ultra marathon – COME JOIN ROUND 2, DECEMBER 2025). Focusing on Jaa’s pregnancy was amazing, and hard core training for the 160km run through the Sahara kept me on the straight and narrow. And 2024 was a blessing for all of that. So now, what does 2025 hold without such a big goal? Making money for sure is one. Happy families is another. Of course, a lot of travel, fitness and adventure. But being vague doesn’t hold you accountable. So let’s see specifically what I want to achieve in 2025:

MY 2025 GOALS

• Run my Highway to Hell Ultracycle, and my Eye of the Sahara Ultramarathon events successfully (and complete them personally too of course)
• Increase my net worth by $100k
• Buy a piece of land to develop a luxury villa to sell
• Drop my body fat to the lowest it’s ever been at 41 (less than 15%)
• Donate at least $10k
• Film my whole season 1 of my travel show
• Spend more than 2/3rds of the year with my family, Jaa and Aidan, at home (or on holiday together).
• Stick to 101 cheat meals and 75 alcohol tokens
• Bring my new family, and my mum to 1 new country

9 goals. Let me see, one by one:

1) Run My Ultra Endurance Events:

My goal is to have 4 yearly events, to bring people together, and help them realise they are capable of so much more! The first was was the Eye of the Sahara in December 2024, and that will be every December now. So round 2 is in December 2025. COME AND JOIN ME!

YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE!

I’ll also be starting my 2nd of the 4 events, the HIGHWAY TO HELL ULTRA CYCLE. Where we cycle across the desert of Turkmenistan, 300km. From Ashgabat, the Capital city, to the famous GATES OF HELL. Epic! COME AND JOIN ME THERE TOO!

YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE!

I have my 2 other events in the pipeline, but I want to get these 2 locked down first. So my goal for 2025 is to run these, and ideally not at a financial loss like the 2024 Sahara event!

2) Increase my net worth by $100k

My bread and butter. My one constant goal each and every year. Life is a beautiful adventure. And travel is a blessing. But I’m not naive. And money makes the world go round. I want to be able to fulfill my dreams, and show the world to my wife and son. Take care of my mum. And do cool stuff forever. For this, we need financial freedom. So, like every year since 2012, I want my net worth on December 31st 2025 to be at least $100,000USD higher than it was on January 1st 2025. That means I have to save $8,333 every month. Not easy. But stay hungry and stay humble.

3) Buy a piece of land to develop a luxury villa to sell

Business time. Blogging changed my life. It’s always been too good to be true. I started in 2009, and haven’t had a ‘real’ job yet. Every year I thought it would end, but here I am at 41 still ticking over. AI is coming though. So finally, maybe?, it could be coming to an end. I don’t want to be caught with my pants down, so I need another REAL source of income. For me, that will be developing some luxury pool villas in Thailand. There is no financing available, which means I need to do it all in cash. Ouch. I have enough for th eland now, and working on saving for the build. I’ll be close by the end of the year. In the meantime, I’ll buy the land and get the plans done. That’s the goal for 2025.

If you want to join me on this villa development, DM me. A few of you have reached out, and I’m open to partners.

4) Drop my body fat to the lowest it’s ever been at 41 (less than 15%)

Oooops. I train so hard. And I know I’m fit. But god is my diet brutal. I eat super healthy food all the time, been veggie for almost a decade, but when I cheat, I cheat BADLY. Whole tubs of Ben and Jerries. 5 chocolate bars in 5 mins. You name it. I HAVE TO SORT THIS OUT as I age. This is the year to do.

So, train like I always do, but be stricter with my diet. And to be accountable, that means body fat of 14.9% in december. Let’s do it.

5) Donate at least $10,000USD

Through the charity trips I’ve done with my mum for Cure Parkinson’s, and through our Mudita Adventures foundation, we’ve managed to donate over $300,000USD to worthy causes since 2016. That’s really cool. My dream is to get that to $1m. But step by step. This year, a minimum of $10k. We have 4 charity trips planned, so that target should be smashed! Join me on those charity trips if you’d like?

• Bangladesh trip in April, where we help refurbish a school
• EPIC Pakistani Kashmir roadtrip into June in June, where we fund a pop-up clinic
• Madagascar trip where we help refurbish a primary school in August
• EPIC Mongolia Eagle festival in October, where we fund running water and toilets for families

6) Film my whole season 1 of my travel show

It’s wild, but i have my own TV show. For TRT world (like Turkish BBC). ‘Where next with Johnny Ward’. I hope to film all 6 episodes of season 1 in 2025 (and maybe up to 12). I’m not a natural, that’s for sure. But I’ll try my best.

7) 2/3rds of the year with my family

Travel makes me money. Public speaking, blogging, social media, trips, TV show now too. But money isn’t my driver. So I need to make sure I don’t say yes to everything. 365 days in a year, I want to be with Jaa, Aidan and my mum, in Chiang Mai, Thailand (or on holiday together) AT LEAST 2/3rds of the year. So that means I can’t be on the road more than 122 days, and I must spend at least 243 at home. Focus johnny boy. Stay disciplined.

8) Stick to 101 cheat meals and 75 alcohol tokens

As an irishman, and with alcoholism in my bloodline, I know relationships with alcohol can vary a lot. For me, I have no plans to ever be tee-total. I love watching romcoms and drinking red wine. Or champagane in a business class flight. Reunions with the boys and 100 beers. Some of the best times of my life.

Equally, it shouldn’t impact negatively on my life. And with that I use the ‘token system’, that me and a few friends have done every year since 2020. You choose your tokens for the year, I choose 75. With that, you can only drink on 75 days of the year. If you only have one glass of wine, that’s still a token. Or 10 beers with your mates, also 1 token.

So basically once a week, then twice the following week, then once the next week, and twice again (or any combination you want). This number can sound so little to some, and so much to others. And that’s ok. For me, with all my travels and flights, reunions and parties, it’s tough! So it’s a good number. I’ve stuck to it every year so far. You can also ‘earn’ each tokens for a 2000 calorie work-out.

This year, i’ll also do it with cheat meals to keep my body fat lower. 2 pig-out sessions per week. 101 tokens for the year. DON’T BREAK IT JOHNNY BOY!

9) Bring my mum to 1 new country

I want to try to bring my 2 month old son, Aidan (and of course Jaa, my wife) on an international trip. I have no idea how it is to travel with a kid. So let’s try!

My mum is getting older, and her Parkinson’s isn’t getting better. I want to treat her to cool experiences while she still can. So whether that’s a city break in luxury in Singapore, or an adventure to Turkmenistan, I want to take her on at least 1 new trip to a new country in 2025. Life doesn’t end in retirement, and 1 year is valuable at 75, just the way it is at 21. In fact, even more so. So let’s not waste the chances.

MY 2025 TRAVELS

My schedule is BUSY! I have 10 trips on my calendar. Not sure if I’ll make them all, but currently it looks like this. 9 countries listed, plus China, Jordan, Egypt, UAE, Thailand – so probably at least 14 countries, and probably at least 30 or 40 flights. Let’s see.

If you want to join me on any of these, DM me on instagram.com/onestep4ward 🙂

THOUGHTS?

9 goals. None of them as grand as the old goals. But I’m committed none the less. The beauty is in the struggle, and in the journey of course. But these goals give me focus. I try to live intentionally. To do otherwise is to waste your life. I feel strongly that we shouldn’t drift in life, letting things happen ‘to’ us, rather than us driving the direction. Success is just a selection of choices, walking into the struggle. And coming out the otherside better for it. So let’s keep moving folks.

If you like this stuff, you can see the last 8 years of my goals, failures, near-misses and successes here:

Past 10 years of recaps and goals:

• 2024: My plans for 2024, and then my 2024 year-end review.
• 2023: My 2023 Goals and plans for the year and my 2023 year-end review
• 2022: My 2022 Goals and Plans for the year and my 2022 year-end review
• 2021: My 2021 Plans from the start of the year and my 2021 Year-end review.
• 2020: My goals and plans for 2020 at the start of 2020 and then at the end of 2020, my 2020 review.
• 2019: My 2019 goals from January 2019, and then my 2019 year review from December 2019.
• 2018: My 2018 goals from January 2018, and then my 2018 review at the end of the year.
• 2017: My 2017 year review.
• 2016: My 2016 plans. And my 2016 year in review.
• 2015: My 2015 year in review.
• 2014: My plans and goals for 2014