BUILDING EMPIRES

Daily writing prompt

What were your parents doing at your age?

View all responses

Building Empires (No, Literally)

My parents retired at 40. Yes. Forty.

Sometimes I say it out loud just to see how it sounds. It feels unreal ,especially as I get closer to their age. I am 32 right now and nowhere near the retirement phase.

My dad retired first. Then my mum followed. Not that they completely stopped working, they simply shifted. From employees to owners. From salaried to strategic. They now oversee business ventures, properties, land investments, and more.

And when I look at them, I feel… small. Not because they are flashy. They aren’t. I wouldn’t even call them “rich.” But they are financially intelligent and free.

At my age, they had already bought a house. They were investing in land. I was 10 or 12 back then, completely unaware that while I was doing homework, they were building the foundations for their own retirement.

My dad especially. He experimented a lot at my age. Tried businesses that didn’t always make profits- hotels, restaurants, cafés, nightclubs, events, a recording studio, photography (you name it). He took risks that made me uncomfortable growing up. I remember resenting him. I thought he was reckless. Stubborn. Acting like a bachelor with no responsibilities.

Now I see it differently. I see risk, yes!! but I also see courage.

Little did I know back then, that for him, every failed business was a lesson. Every risk was calculated in ways I couldn’t understand as a child. He wasn’t being careless, he was being brave. He was expanding himself and that is some thing I really respect him for.

I always thought playing it safe was the ultimate win. He was different. Still is.

Maybe that explains how he retired so early.

My mum, on the other hand, was precision in my eyes. Smart. Responsible. Steady. She was the best supporting character who actually played a main role in my dad’s life. She followed him to different cities, different rental apartments, and different phases of uncertainty, without ever forcing him to settle or stay in one place.

That did mean sacrifice. It meant not seeing them much while growing up. But I understand now, that’s the cost. Nothing valuable comes without a price. It’s a sad truth about life- but when love exists at the core, nothing is truly lost. Not time. Not connection. Not even relationships.

They moved often. Adjusted often. Waited often. Until they didn’t have to anymore.

One house became another. Land turned into leverage. Patience turned into security.

They both worked solid jobs in Dubai. Mum worked for the government, while Dad was in multinational corporate life. And yes, let’s be honest, earning in dirhams helped a lot. Currency strength matters. Conversion power matters.

But most of all, financial planning matters.

Because money alone doesn’t guarantee security. We’ve all heard stories of lottery winners who receive sudden wealth and end up back where they started, sometimes even worse off. Without discipline, strategy, and long-term thinking, money disappears as quickly as it arrives.

I earn in yen, in a different economy, at a different scale and speed- and sometimes I can’t help but compare. Not just my earning capacity, but my financial awareness.

Yes, currency helped my parents. But I believe what helped even more was their mindset, their compatibility, and most of all, their financial literacy.

So it’s safe to say- it wasn’t just the currency.

It was vision. It was risk tolerance. It was long-term thinking. It was discipline behind the scenes.
It was sacrifice. It was the patience to stay “poor” for a long time.

They loved travel, parties, and shopping, but they knew how to enjoy all of it frugally. They lived comfortably in cozy homes, never flashy, never excessive. They traveled often and encouraged us to do the same while growing up, always saying that travel is the best teacher. I think they understood the difference between living well, investing in what truly adds value, and living beyond their means.

They were slogging at my age. Grinding. Planning. Buying assets instead of comforts. I don’t remember luxury. But I remember movement. I remember their ambition. And that ambition made me aim high too -not exactly sure how high, but I always knew I would be fine even during my darkest times, It sure is cause of them and their strength.

I’m in Japan now. Stable job. Different path. Slower accumulation. Less dramatic risk. And yes, sometimes I feel like a sore loser.

But I can also say this proudly: I don’t have debt, all thanks to my parents. I don’t have dependents either. I don’t carry the financial responsibility of supporting my family the way many Indians do. I send them money when I want to, not because I have to. And there’s something deeply comforting in knowing that my parents will be financially secure with or without me.

I pray every day for their good health and happiness.

So what were my parents doing at my age?

They were building what their parents couldn’t.

Maybe I’m building differently because I don’t have to start from zero.

They broke the cycle of uncertainty FOR SURE.

I get to choose my pace because they chose that sacrifice.

And that difference- That’s their true success.