This man has visited every
country on Earth and made $1.4m - and you can do it too
Would
you like to visit every country on the Earth?
How
do you think this man paid for all his travels?
Have you ever dreamed of leaving your
9-to-5 routine behind?
Irishman Johnny Ward did, and has just
completed a 10-year goal to visit every country in the world. In this trip he
has visited 197 countries. It ended in Norway earlier this month. In Norway he
celebrated the achievement with his girlfriend and family. But it wasn't all
fun and excitement along the travels. He encountered
corrupt border agents. He travelled across war zones and spent nights in police
jails and hospital beds. He saw a man shot in front of him in Angola and heard
bombs in Mogadishu, Somalia.
He initially
paid for his travels by teaching English. That was before going on to start a
travel blog,. The travel blog expanded
into a media brand that has more than 100 separate websites. He says he has
earned over $1.4 million from advertising revenue on his websites. He has
bought property in London and Bangkok, and will never need to work an office
job again. On his website, One Step 4 Ward, he records his travels and also offers advice
to those wishing to emulate him.
Where did this desire to travel come from?
It's the freedom - travel is a symptom of that. Growing up poor, with
no father, meant he hated being stuck and he didn’t like to report to bosses. He
tried to create a life where he could make the choices he wanted.
His first trip
He had been working on a summer camp for
disadvantaged kids in New York all summer. Then he traveled around the US. When he got
back to Ireland he was broke. He was
desperate to travel but his mother couldn't help so he had to do it himself. He
needed a few thousand dollars to pay for an English teaching qualification. He
then got his flights to Asia and then signed up for medical research. In
medical research you lock yourself in a hospital and they test drugs on you
before they can release them to the market. It was lonely and difficult but it set him up. And within a couple of
months he was living in Thailand, teaching English. So he felt it was worth the
effort for him.
Where does he want to go to next?
He says he is off to Spain and then to
Norway and onwards to Bangkok. He lives part of his year in Thailand. Next month he will be racing tuktuks around
Sri Lanka and having a couple of days in the Maldives. Then he will be back to
Thailand to build a playground for disadvantaged kids on the Burma/Thai border
through the charity his friend and him started, called GiveBackGiveAway. The
rest of the year is busy; he is also planning a round-the-world-trip without
taking a flight.
Try
to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest
meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and
have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the
reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary
depending on how they are used.
The
answers are below the table.
routine
|
A
|
1
|
To meet
|
encounter
|
B
|
2
|
To copy
|
initially
|
C
|
3
|
What we do as a habit for example doing
the same thing everyday
|
expand
|
D
|
4
|
To have no money
|
emulate
|
E
|
5
|
To get bigger, to increase
|
symptom
|
F
|
6
|
Money or other help to be able to begin
|
broke
|
G
|
7
|
An indication or hint of something
|
set him up
|
H
|
8
|
To start, to begin with, at first
|
A=3, B=1, C=8, D=5, E=2, F=7,
G=4, H=6
Some
example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they
are used in the reading to help you understand better.
1.
I have the same routine every day, I get up at 7 and
shower then make breakfast.
2.
I encountered my friend on the street, it was a surprise to see him
in Paris too.
3.
Initially learning a new language is
hard, but as you study more then you begin to expand your knowledge and you learn faster.
4.
He emulated his father by going to the same university and studying
the same subject.
5.
High debt is a symptom of spending and borrowing too
much money to pay for things.
6.
I remember being a student; I
felt broke all the time.
7.
The education that my parents
paid for me set me up for all my
life.
Some
questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your
answer.
1.
How do you feel about your routine? Do you think it is possible to
do as this man in the story did for you or people in your country? Why or why
not?
2.
How would you feel about
traveling the world and encountering
people very different to you?
3.
If you did the same as this
traveler then where would you initiate
your journey?
4.
Do you believe traveling expands your mind and thinking? How?
5.
Do you think many other people
will emulate this man?
6.
What do you think our need to
travel is a symptom of? Is it the
same for all people who travel?
7.
Is being broke always a bad thing? Why or why not?
8.
Did someone set you up with your education, or did
you set it up yourself?