--- title: A serial adventurer embraces his professional side with Xolo Go description: Blogger, entrepreneur and serial adventurer Johnny Ward discusses his adventures, his philosophies and how Xolo Go fits into his business. image: https://blog.xolo.io/hubfs/johnny%20ward%20blogger.jpeg --- [Xolo](https://www.xolo.io/zz-en) - Solutions ## Global solutions šŸŒŽ Everything you need to run your independent business from anywhere Local solutions e-Residency company [Run and set up your company from anywhere](https://www.xolo.io/zz-en/leap) [Switch your company to Xolo](https://www.xolo.io/zz-en/switch-to-xolo) [E-commerce support](https://www.xolo.io/zz-en/e-commerce) No company? 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This Irish native was on the other side of the world, completely broke, funding his travels through Asia by teaching English.Ā  Fast forward to the present day, he's made over 2 million dollars blogging, has travelled to every. single. country(!) on the planet, and at the time of this writing ā€” is preparing to row across the Atlantic. As you can see, he's a busy guy! We were lucky enough to sit down with him to discuss his adventures ā€” past, present *and* future ā€” his personal philosophies and how he uses Xolo to level up his professionalism game.Ā  ## Building a Location-Independent Life Through Opportunity #### Q: How do you define yourself? Are you a business owner, freelancer, digital nomad or something else? Wow, thatā€™s a tough one. I guess people see me as a ā€˜bloggerā€™ but I would like to be thought of as an adventurer! Entrepreneur I guess is more accurate. Digital nomad, for sure too! ## How He Built a Business That Funded Travel to Every Country #### **Q: You have travelled to every country in the worldā€¦ how were you able to do that?** That was my peak ā€˜digital nomadā€™ life! [From 2007 to 2017 I spent a decade on my journey to every country](https://onestep4ward.com/my-journey-to-every-country-in-the-world-country-list-and-faq/). I started as a broke backpacker, teaching English in Thailand and South Korea to get by. Save a little, travel, run out of money, back to teaching again. In 2010 I started my blog, by 2012 I was living off it. That allowed me to aggressively travel, where I could visit maybe 20 countries a year, and not worry too much about financing it. Then I expanded into SEO, then [adventure travel](https://onestep4ward.com/tours-to-socotra/) and finally my [non-profit](http://muditaadventures.com/) adventure charity, [Mudita Adventures](https://muditaadventures.com/). > [Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  View this post on Instagram Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CIPk89aswsu/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading) > > [A post shared by JOHNNY WARD (@onestep4ward)](https://www.instagram.com/p/CIPk89aswsu/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading) As I approached my last few countries, my businesses were alive and working, so I ticked off Norway as my [197th and final country](https://onestep4ward.com/how-many-countries-in-the-world/) on St. Patrick's Day, 2017. ## **Pushing Limits: Why Entrepreneurs Keep Raising the Bar** #### Q: Youā€™re planning to row across the Atlanticā€¦ how did that happen? Haha. What do you do when you finish a 10 year goal?! I could either settle down, or challenge myself further. So yeah, Iā€™m rowing across the Atlantic to raise money for [HuMEN](https://www.wearehumen.org/), a menā€™s mental health charity.Ā  Iā€™m a big believer in the law of attraction, so one time I was running an ultra-marathon ā€” 6 marathons in 6 days ā€” across the Sahara (the [Marathon des Sables](https://onestep4ward.com/marathon-des-sables-my-experience/)) and I met a guy who had rowed an ocean before. Through him I joined a facebook group, and a couple of months ago they had a last minute space available. So I applied and here I am! Itā€™s 2 hours rowing, 2 hours resting, 24 hours a day for 7 weeks. 100% unsupported, no other boats, no engine, no sail. Iā€™m pretty scared, but Iā€™ve been training hard on the row machine ā€” I hope thatā€™s enough. Iā€™ve never been in a row boat before! ## The Real Reason People Choose Freelancing and Entrepreneurship #### Q: What gave you the final push to leave the 9ā€“5? Freedom. I often say that a good salary in a job you donā€™t love isnā€™t success, itā€™s financial prison. I want to be able to go where I want, do what I want, whenever I want. And if that means only work an hour today, cool. Or 18 hours, also cool.Ā  > [Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  View this post on Instagram Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CHQHHDAsTAc/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading) > > [A post shared by JOHNNY WARD (@onestep4ward)](https://www.instagram.com/p/CHQHHDAsTAc/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading) ## **From Chaos to Professional: Why Systems Matter for Freelancers** #### Q: Youā€™ve used Xolo Goā€¦ how has it helped you? Professionalism. In the blogging world, we often come across a little disorganised. Iā€™m the worst of all for that. Xolo Go has allowed me to look like a professional when Iā€™m dealing with clients. Thatā€™s a huge help.Ā Iā€™m looking at moving to [Xolo Leap](https://www.xolo.io/leap) soon, too! #### **Q: Who Should Use Xolo?Ā ** Pretty much any digital nomad/remote worker. Xolo Go when youā€™re starting out, and you want to look professional when dealing with clients/invoices/finances. Then Xolo Leap when you want to be a ā€˜realā€™ company ā€” registered, legal, etc. ā€”Ā but you have no idea what to do. Xolo takes care of it. Pretty epic progress being made in the online space, I wish all this stuff was around when I was starting out! If you want to stay up to date with Johnny and his adventures, follow him on instagram [@onestep4ward.](https://www.instagram.com/onestep4ward/) [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/5615817/cf145d2a-24a0-4e05-b9a6-5599ccd575b5.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/5615817/cf145d2a-24a0-4e05-b9a6-5599ccd575b5) ### Become a digital nomad and leave the business admin to Xolo. 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