This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series, which details how people around the world earn, spend and save their money.

Growing up near Lake Michigan meant swimming was expected, Fares Ksebati says. The Detroit native learned to swim when he was 5 years old, though his parents — who immigrated from Syria — didn’t know how themselves. 

“I fell in love with the water right away,” the 33-year-old tells CNBC Make It. “I really enjoy being in this environment where you can feel free and weightless and just be in the sun.”

Ksebati started swimming competitively in elementary school and continued through college and after. At 17, he started coaching other swimmers. But he never expected swimming to play such a significant role in his career.

That changed around 2014, when a woman Ksebati coached asked him to develop a training plan she could use in hotel pools while traveling for work. The inquiry sparked the idea for MySwimPro, a swim workout app Ksebati co-founded in 2015.

The app took off. In 2024 the company brought in $2.5 million in gross revenue from subscriptions, premium one-on-one coaching and weeklong swim retreats where Ksebati and other coaches train members at luxury resorts in global destinations like Egypt, Turkey and Thailand.

In 2025, Ksebati will take home a base salary of $240,000 as CEO, plus a bonus, profit share and earnings from brand deals and book sales. He expects to bring in a total of around $400,000, he says.

He enjoyed Dubai back in 2021 when he first visited, and spent more and more time there each year before buying an apartment there in February 2025.

“You have people literally from all over the world, all walks of life, people who come from wealth, people who are just getting started and making a name for themselves,” he says. “I think for me to be surrounded by this diversity of perspective is what’s the most empowering.”

Here’s a look at how Ksebati grew MySwimPro, as well as what it’s like splitting his time between his parents’ home in Detroit and his apartment in Dubai.

Just a year after it launched, MySwimPro earned Apple’s App of the Year accolade in the Watch category. The award didn’t come with any money, but it “gave us a lot of momentum,” Ksebati says.

The business boomed in the first few years, notching a thousand downloads a day by 2019. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it destroyed much of that early growth.

“All pools closed and our business starts falling off a cliff,” Ksebati says. Paid subscriptions dropped by nearly 30% between 2019 and 2020.

Ksebati and his team had to innovate. They added at-home workouts to the app and Ksebati live-streamed swimming-specific workouts viewers could do at home without a pool. Within the next couple of years, the company bounced back to pre-pandemic active paid subscriber counts and added another 50% on top. It has over 15,000 active paid subscribers as of March 2025.

“I think it just goes to show by staying consistent, having a positive mindset and working through the challenges, you can continue to progress despite insurmountable challenges,” Ksebati says.

The company turned a profit in 2018 and 2019, but the pandemic set it back financially. After restructuring, MySwimPro broke even in 2024, and Ksebati says it’s on track to return to profitability this year. The company has six full-time employees and works with several part-time contractors and agencies.

Ksebati works around 40 to 60 hours a week creating content, working on his book or doing other projects for MySwimPro. He is “always plugged into our business, from almost the moment I wake up to when I go to sleep,” he says. 

Ksebati’s income allows him to do virtually whatever he wants, he says, even in a place like Dubai with its reputation for luxury.

He first visited Dubai in 2021 and spent an increasing amount of time there each year, so he finally bought an apartment in February for $1.3 million dirham, or about $354,000. “Every single year I just fell in love with the energy, the forward-thinking mindset,” he says. “It really is a city of innovation.”

Dubai offers high-quality experiences across a wide range of income levels, Ksebati says. So while he often splurges on travel, sometimes taking multiple trips a month, his typical spending is fairly tame. 

“I live relatively frugally given the amount of income that I have,” he says. “And I sort of want to keep it that way. I don’t really want to have a certain level of lifestyle inflation.”

Here’s how he spent his money living in Dubai in March 2025:

• Savings and investments: $17,682 toward his 401(k) and brokerage accounts
• Food: $2,199 on groceries and dining out
• Housing and utilities: $1,751 for his mortgage and homeowners association fee, which covers his utilities and Wi-Fi
• Discretionary: $1,220 on travel, laundry service, books and foreign transaction fees
• Transportation: $687 on a monthly rental car, gas and rideshare services
• Insurance: $195 on health, dental and vision insurance
• Subscriptions and memberships: $143 on streaming services and lifestyle and fitness apps
• Phone: $103 for his mobile plan

Despite the upfront costs, including a $142,000 down payment, buying an apartment has decreased Ksebati’s monthly expenses. His mortgage costs come out to about $1,750 a month, whereas he previously paid between $2,700 and $4,000 a month for Airbnbs in Dubai. He plans to rent out the space while he’s in Detroit for additional income.

Ksebati regularly spends on travel, both for work and fun, but he spent more than usual on food in March because he was going out for Ramadan iftars — meals to break daily fasting during the holy month, often with friends and family.

The bulk of his income goes toward saving and investing. He didn’t have a strong foundation of financial knowledge growing up, Ksebati says, so he’s taken time to learn about investing in the last few years. He’s been aggressively buying into stocks and index funds, and aims to invest around $15,000 a month.

Ksebati owns over half of MySwimPro and has over $870,000 invested between his retirement and brokerage accounts. He has around $14,000 in cash in his savings account.

“You could look at it on paper and be like, I’m kind of set for life,” he says. “But I [have] a bit more of an entrepreneurial mindset …. I have to hold myself back from too many ideas [for] building out other businesses just because there are only so many hours in the day.”

Ksebati plans to continue splitting his time between Dubai and Detroit, although he can see himself spending more time in Dubai in the future. For now though, “I’m really happy with the mix that I have where I’m able to travel — I’m very mobile,” he says.

Ksebati wants to maintain that mobility in the future, which may mean adding a few homes in different parts of the world to his budding real estate portfolio, he says.

As for MySwimPro, he hopes the company will continue to be a brand that “empowers people to swim for life” and use new technologies to further improve swimmers’ experiences in the water. 

“If I’m always able to provide and give to the world and create impact and share knowledge, then I’ll be happy,” he says. “And so for right now, I feel that I’m doing that and as long as I continue on that path, I think I’ll be in a good spot.”

Conversions from United Arab Emirates dirham to USD were done using the OANDA conversion rate of 1 dirham to 0.27 USD on Feb. 20, 2025. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.

Want a new career that’s higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Change Careers and Be Happier at Work. Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Start today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $67 (+taxes and fees) through May 13, 2025.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.

I’ve always looked forward to Mother’s Day. I embrace it as a useful reminder to pause in the tumult of everyday life, to reflect lovingly and thankfully about my mother — and the mother figures in my life — and to tell them how important they are to me.

I’m fortunate enough to be both a mother and a daughter. In the past year, however, my relationships with my two daughters have changed. Now they’re both out of the house, and I’ve entered what many people call the “empty-nest stage.”

But I’ve decided to rename this transition as the “open-door stage.” An empty nest suggests abandonment and loss; an open door suggests new possibilities and the freedom to come and go — for my daughters, and also for my husband and me.

As we entered this family open-door phase, I wanted to impart some of the tried-and-true lessons that time and experience had taught me — usually the hard way.

It took me a while, but over time I eventually realized how useless it was to tell my daughters, “Look on the bright side!” “It’s not so bad!” “You’re not afraid of clowns!” I was trying to cheer them up, but they didn’t feel better — they felt worse.

Instead, they were comforted when I said things like, “It sounds like you got really rattled during the exam,” “That comment really hurt your feelings,” or “It’s hard to memorize the multiplication tables.”

After a while, I figured it out: We make people happier by acknowledging that they’re not feeling happy.

One parenting conundrum puzzled me for a long time. I love my daughters with all my heart, I don’t want them to change a bit — so why was I constantly pushing and prodding them to improve?

Finally, I understood: Love is unconditional, and love is demanding. Love accepts you just as you are, and love expects the best from you.

One frustrating aspect of happiness is that we can’t make people change. As a parent, however, I discovered that when I changed myself — when I got more sleep so I was less irritable, when I gave myself more time so I wasn’t rushing around, when I kept my sense of humor — my daughters became calmer and more cheerful.

DON’T MISS: How to successfully change careers and be happier at work

I was changing myself, and my daughters responded, and it became clear: We can’t make people change. But when we change, our relationships change — and so others may also change.

I learned one of my most important parenting lessons of all a few years ago, when my daughters were very young.

I remember struggling to articulate a strange paradox that I kept experiencing as a parent: One busy Saturday or a difficult week would stretch out endlessly, but second grade would pass in a flash.

I would lie in bed in the morning, overwhelmed by everything that had to happen before I got back into bed for the night — but Labor Day would come, then almost immediately it was Thanksgiving, then Fourth of July, then Labor Day again.

After many attempts, I managed to put into words how we, as parents, exist in two timelines: The days are long, but the years are short.

These are the lessons that have meant the most to me, as a parent.

Using Mother’s Day as a catalyst for reflection has given me a fresh perspective on the “Secrets of Adulthood” that I’ve learned from being a parent. I’m glad I found this new way to observe this annual holiday.

It’s helpful to have this precise reminder to reflect. After all, what can be done at any time is often done at no time.

Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential observers of happiness and human nature. She’s the author of many books, including the bestseller ”The Happiness Project.” Her books have sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide, in more than 30 languages. She hosts the award-winning podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin, where she explores practical solutions for living a happier life. Her new book, ”Secrets of Adulthood,” is out now.

Want a new career that’s higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Change Careers and Be Happier at Work. Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Start today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $67 (+taxes and fees) through May 13, 2025.

When a child throws a full-blown tantrum over a minor setback, you might be tempted to respond with tough love.

But the key to raising kids who grow up to be mentally strong, resilient adults is to treat them with compassion, rather than chastising them for over-reacting, according to child psychologist Becky Kennedy. 

“It’s almost like we view compassion as dangerous,” Kennedy, who has a PhD in clinical psychology from Columbia University, said on an April 22 episode of her parenting podcast “Good Inside.” “When [kids] are having a big reaction to something we deem to be a small, childish thing, we think that compassion is going to lead to kids being soft, being snowflakes.”

Kennedy “thought these things myself” about her own three children when they were toddlers, she said. But when a young child’s disappointment leads to a tantrum, a parent’s criticism can actually make the overreaction worse, she said: “If I add my criticism, my invalidation, the feeling just gets bigger. It’s so counterproductive.”

Instead, Kennedy recommended acknowledging your child’s disappointment with calm, supportive statements like, ”‘It makes sense. You’re upset … That is real. And I know you’re going to get through it.’”

Validating language can help kids feel understood, especially when they’re struggling or upset. You can even use it to discourage future emotional meltdowns: “Parents can use phrases like: ”‘It’s OK to feel upset, but not OK to act this way,’” psychotherapist Amy Morin wrote for CNBC Make It in December.

“It shows them that feelings like anger or sadness are normal, but it’s not OK to disrupt or hurt others,” Morin added, noting that parents can teach kids alternative ways of coping with big feelings, like taking deep breaths or naming their emotions. “Controlling how emotions are expressed is a key skill they’ll need for life’s inevitable ups and downs.”

Mentally resilient adults tend to have self-compassion. Parents can help establish that skill from an early age, said Kennedy.

“A parent’s voice becomes a child’s self-talk,” Kennedy said. If parents invalidate or criticize their child’s distress, that kid is more likely to react to a setback as an adult with self-criticism, rather than reflecting on what went wrong and trying to figure out the best way forward. 

″[That] is only going to make it more difficult for them to find their feet, find their confidence, find their self-trust, find their resilience, and actually move on and figure out what they want to do next,” said Kennedy.

Teaching your children how to show themselves compassion can help ensure that, as they age, they’ll be better equipped to handle setbacks without spiraling into negativity.

“Compassion is a huge part of self-regulation,” said Kennedy, adding: “When we berate ourselves, ironically, that makes us so much softer, because we’re not able to deal with the feeling [and] it lasts longer and gets even bigger.”

Self-compassion makes both children and adults more motivated to learn new things, and to change their behavior to avoid repeating past mistakes, according to research from psychologist and University of Texas at Austin associate professor Kristin Neff.

“Compassion after failure makes people more likely to persevere and try again as compared to those who self-criticize,” Kennedy said, referencing Neff’s research. “Also, self-compassion helps people take responsibility for mistakes without spiraling into shame. That’s huge.”

Want a new career that’s higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Change Careers and Be Happier at Work. Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Start today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $67 (+taxes and fees) through May 13, 2025.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.

In 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic, I decided to put a tiny home in my backyard. 

At the time, I was operating several short-term rentals in Atlanta, including rooms within my three-bedroom primary home. But Covid-19 made renting safely a challenge. I figured the best way to keep passive income flowing — and myself safe — was to move into a smaller structure and list my main home on Airbnb.

So I started designing an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) — a self-contained structure on the same lot as a single-family or multifamily home. The 296-square-foot home was converted from a lofted shed and hooked up to my main home’s utilities. It cost about $35,000 to build, including the prefabricated structure, labor, and materials. 

As with many big ideas, things didn’t go as planned — and that turned out to be a blessing. Here are four ways I’ve used my ADU over the last five years: 

I finished building the tiny house in March 2021. After going over budget and falling behind schedule, I decided to list it as a short-term rental to recoup costs, charging between $89 and $129 per night. 

It quickly became one of the most popular units in my portfolio — thanks in part to my docuseries “Going Tiny,” which documented the entire build from sketch to rental.

Guests ranged from construction workers to couples and solo travelers looking for a more unique, personal experience than a hotel. It was rewarding to see people find joy in something I had envisioned and brought to life from scratch.

In 2022, I stepped away from Airbnb completely. As I shared more in my TEDx talk, “Why We Need to Rethink Housing Insecurity,” I felt torn, offering beautiful spaces to travelers while many locals lacked access to stable, long-term housing.

DON’T MISS: How to successfully change careers and be happier at work

So I shifted to mid- and long-term rentals, offering the ADU to grad students, travel nurses, and other professionals for about $1,300 a month. These were people who needed a home base near the city, but were often priced out of the market. 

During this phase, the ADU still generated income, but now it aligned with my values.

By early 2023, I was in a transitional season. I’d just ended a long-term relationship and I was craving solitude and a reset. That’s when I moved into the ADU myself.

For six months, I fully embraced tiny living in my own backyard, while renting out rooms in my main home to college students for a total of about $2,725 a month. It lowered my expenses and gave me a new appreciation for the space I’d once seen purely as an investment. 

It became a sanctuary — supporting both my finances and my healing from the breakup.

When my younger sister moved to Atlanta with her fiancé later that year, they were expecting their first child. I invited them to stay in the ADU, giving them a peaceful space to transition into parenthood without the pressure of paying high rent. They stayed rent-free the first few months, and then started contributing $1,200 a month.

It was the first time in nearly a decade that I’d lived in the same city as any of my family. Since leaving for college and moving to Atlanta solo, I had made friends and built community, but having my sister nearby was grounding in a way that nothing else had been. 

Our setup isn’t traditional, but it’s deeply fulfilling. We share meals, look out and show up for each other, and truly live in community. When I’m working long startup hours, it’s my sister making sure I eat. And in the quiet moments — late nights by the fire pit, spontaneous movie nights, or just checking in on each other — it feels like the best version of growing up together, but now as women building stability, sisterhood, and a sense of home side by side.

In 2024, our youngest sister moved to the city to attend Spelman College. Though she doesn’t live on the property, that makes two sisters, a nephew, a brother in law — who’s now like a brother to me — and a whole lot of joy and support in town.

Today, the ADU still houses my sister and her family. But more than that, it’s a symbol of what’s possible when we reimagine how we use the space we already have.

At a time when loneliness is a common problem and housing costs keep climbing, ADUs offer a powerful solution. They create flexibility, support multigenerational living, and can generate income when needed. 

I’ve seen firsthand what one small structure can do. And now, through my company Gather ADU, I help others do the same. Most of our builds so far have been in California. But just this month, we broke ground on our first ADU in Georgia for a close friend of mine who lives just a few blocks away. 

Five years ago, when I built my backyard tiny home, I had no idea it would lead to a business helping others create the same kind of space and community. But more than anything, I’ve learned ADUs aren’t just about housing — they’re about possibility, connection, and room to grow.

Precious Price is a TEDx speaker, real estate entrepreneur, and co-founder of Gather ADU, a startup helping homeowners and investors build backyard tiny homes and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to create more housing and maximize their property value. She holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Follow her on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Want a new career that’s higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Change Careers and Be Happier at Work. Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Start today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $67 (+taxes and fees) through May 13, 2025.

As a leadership consultant who studies workplace psychology, I’ve spent more than 30 years helping thousands of individuals and CEOs at multimillion-dollar organizations.

I’ve always been observant of the different personalities I work with, especially when I was an executive myself. During team meetings, extroverts always jumped in first, eager to lead the conversation. They often brought energy, but not much more. The people who earned my trust were the ones who listened and then spoke with precision. Almost every time, they were the introverts.

To understand why introverts often communicate — and execute — more effectively, you need to understand that their brains work differently: It often resists discomfort, but it also performs best when it’s forced to confront that discomfort.

So interacting with people, for example, especially in groups or without preparation, is uncomfortable. But that very discomfort pushes them to think more deeply, plan more intentionally, and choose their words more carefully. The result is communication that’s precise, thoughtful and far more impactful.

Here are five phrases introverts use that make them more successful than extroverts:

So much time gets wasted when people pretend to understand, derail conversations with vague statements, or stay silent while decisions move forward based on shaky assumptions.

Introverts shift this dynamic by doing the rare thing of admitting what they don’t know. It comes naturally. Why? Because they’re simply telling the truth. That honesty is more than just refreshing, it’s productive.

It also makes other people feel safe admitting uncertainty, which leads to better thinking and decision-making.

In most organizations, people compete to have all the answers, especially within their own area of responsibility. The cost? Missed input and limited collaboration.

In contrast, introverts express themselves in ways that show a genuine belief in the value of others’ perspectives. They know they don’t have the full picture and actively seek out others to complete it, which makes space for diverse viewpoints and untapped ideas. 

Many people feel the need to talk up the effort they’ve put in, often to mask incomplete work or to protect their status and territory.

Introverts bring the opposite energy: substance without theatrics or fancy claims about effort. When they say they’ve “looked into something,” it’s usually because they have. Instead of inflating their effort, they let the quality of their input speak for itself.

That makes them a quiet but vital force in decision-making.

In today’s business world, there’s immense pressure to move quickly and appear decisive. But teams that skip over ambiguity or bluff their way through uncertainty end up chasing the wrong problems.

DON’T MISS: How to successfully change careers and be happier at work

Introverts help protect against that. They know when it’s time to slow down, not to stall progress, but to ensure it’s real. Their instinct to press pause and think deeper fosters a culture where decisions are made with more accuracy, and far fewer regrets.

One of the main reasons why things don’t work well in organizations is because of unresolved tensions that linger under the surface. People nod along, but underneath, there’s hesitation, frustration or quiet resistance.

When those feelings aren’t acknowledged, they cause missed deadlines and poor follow-through. Introverts, given their reflective mind, help defuse that because they’re truly listening and tuned in to what people aren’t saying. Hence, they bring clarity to what’s really going on.

That clarity accelerates progress, because when people feel heard, they stop resisting and start contributing.

1. Speak with purpose. When you walk, you always have a purpose and a destination. Your speech should work the same way. Every word and sentence should serve a clear purpose and move the conversation somewhere meaningful.

2. Stop using vague generalizations. Saying “We need to improve team collaboration” might sound smart, but it’s meaningless. Replace it with actionable specificity: “Teams A and B are misaligned because their goals conflict. Here’s how we can resolve it…”

3. Structure your thinking before important interactions. Ground your thinking, sharpen your questions and give your communication the quiet confidence introverts are known for by using pen and paper to organize your thoughts under three headings:

• What I’m certain about
• What I believe but am not fully sure about
• What I’m currently clueless about

Becoming more like an introvert in your interactions is all about learning to quiet your brain’s constant chattering. Your goal should always be to communicate with intention.

Stefan Falk is an internationally-recognized executive coach, workplace psychology expert, and author of “Intrinsic Motivation: Learn to Love Your Work and Succeed as Never Before.” A McKinsey & Company alumnus, he has trained over 4,000 leaders across more than 60 organizations and helped drive transformations valued in excess of $2 billion. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Want to be a successful, confident communicator? Take CNBC’s online course Become an Effective Communicator: Master Public Speaking. We’ll teach you how to speak clearly and confidently, calm your nerves, what to say and not say, and body language techniques to make a great first impression. Get started today.