Thursday Traveler: Johnny Ward

Every Thursday, A Dangerous Business will be shining the spotlight on a world nomad, travel blogger, armchair adventurer, or just someone really cool in the travel world. This week, the traveler is Johnny Ward of One Step 4Ward. Johnny graduated from uni in 2006 and has been on the road ever since, traveling, studying and working in over 50 countries around the world. He uses his blog to talk about lifestyle design, and to show people how easy it easy to live the dream. “You don’t have to BE rich to LIVE rich!”

1. How do you define the word “traveler,” and why would you consider yourself one?

I think a traveler is someone who likes to experience life at its fullest, to jump out of their comfort zone and make the most of the one life they have. Blazing their own trail, and not following the same one as everyone else.

2. What has been your favorite travel experience thus far?

That’s a tough question! As a massive sports fan, the World Cup final in South Africa, and the 200m final in Beijing were awesome. There’s so many it’s really difficult to pick one though.

3. How about your proudest travel moment?

You know what, I was automatically gonna say climbing Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain. But it’s actually probably the couple of people who followed my website, become friends online and who have now hit the road themselves, earning cash from their blogs and living the dream. Two in particular sent me really nice, thankful messages for inspiring them to follow the lifestyles they wanted, and that was really cool.

4. Have you had any travel mishaps or bad experiences? If so, have these influenced how you view the place where they happened? Would you go back?

I’ve been in hospitals in 6 different countries! But I don’t get too stressed about it to be honest. That’s life and, who knows, if I had chosen a standard 40-hour job back in some grey city in the UK, I could have been hit by a bus. I’d rather crash my motorbike in Syria anyday! I’ve had a couple of things stolen along the way — iPod (India), iPhone (Thailand) — too, but nothing too drastic.

5. Name one thing you can’t travel without.

My Macbook. It would be a disaster (queue ‘flashpacker’  accusations!).

6. Name one thing you wish you COULD travel without.

A phone. With my laptop, Skype is more than enough and carrying a phone around when you’re country-hopping is pretty pointless. Although in the days of iPhones, they can act as your mp3 player too I guess.

7. What do you think has been the biggest thing you’ve learned while traveling (about yourself, a destination, a culture, travel itself)?

That the life we get force fed in our home countries doesn’t have to be the life we live. People work so hard for a 2 week holiday here and a long weekend there, working 5 days a week for 50 years to achieve it. The world is full of opportunities and there are so many different (better?) lifestyle options available that don’t involve grinding out a job you don’t love, for a pension that may never come. We can redesign our lifestyle and live our dreams every day, it’s not so hard.

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

When I’m not traveling, I live in Thailand — either Bangkok, or Chiang Mai. Awesome culture, cool people, amazing food, beautiful places to visit and there’s a burgeoning, young digital entrepreneurial scene there too which is fun.

9. Name one place you’d like to see or one experience you’d like to have before you die.

Bhutan, North Korea and Iran. And hopefully I’m off to North Korea next month!

10. If there was one thing you wish somebody would have told you before you started traveling, what would it be?

Just buy your first ticket and figure it out from there. That’s all there is to it.

Visit Johnny’s site: One Step 4Ward
“Like” Johnny on Facebook: One Step 4Ward
Check out Johnny’s other site: teach.travel 

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Are you a travel blogger who has something to say on these topics? Do you know of somebody really interesting in the travel universe that you’d like to see interviewed? Speak up! The Thursday Traveler needs some interview subjects.

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