How backpacker made millions

Johnny Ward, a 32-year-old Irishman intent on "living life with passion," is one.

He's one of a handful of travel bloggers in the world earning six-figure incomes each year through their blogging.

In a few weeks he'll complete a decade-old quest to visit every country in the world, a mission he's documenting on his onestep4ward blog.

An impressive achievement on its own. That he's been able to earn more than $1 million over the last three years through blogging puts him firmly in the "whaaaaa?" category of inspirational own-your-own-life stories.

And he seems astonished that so few others are doing the same.

It's hard to tell whether he thinks us office drones are dumb or he has sympathy for our plight. But he speaks with the zeal of an evangelist who's seen the light and can't believe no one else is even looking.

"If I can do this, anyone can do it," he says via Skype from a stylish two-bed apartment in Bangkok that he bought outright with his earnings. "It just takes a bit of belief."

And he seems to genuinely believe it.

"I've been extolling the virtues of chasing your dreams and living the free life that you want to live and not signing up to the nine to five slog for years, you know. So it's a bit disappointing that only when I mention the money does it go viral.

"I understand it -- money is important and I'm grateful for all the attention. But it's a little sad too."

He's referring to last summer, when Business Insider, HuffPo, Forbes and others picked up his $1-million-in-three-years story.

But what comes easy to Ward doesn't come easy to everyone.

Read more