Self Development & Solar Farming - How I Make That FIFO Money & Learn About What I'm Interested In At The Same Time

 'The Mental Toughness Handbook', is the name of the personal development book I am currently reading. I started it before I got stood down from my job unexpectedly two weeks ago and now every night I get into bed and read a few pages of this book before falling asleep, it's like its telling me exactly what I need to know to cope with my current situation. My first night at home, I opened this book where I had left off and it said this: 

"Life throws curve balls. The moment we're confident that a situation will work out exactly as we anticipate, we encounter unforeseen circumstances that threaten to make a mess out of things.  

Most people are surprised, and even paralyzed, by unexpected developments. This is another area in which mentally strong people stand apart from the pack. They realize that while making plans is useful, unpredicted situations can quickly ruin even the most carefully prepared plans. So they learn to adapt. They train themselves to be mentally flexible so they're able to adjust whenever they're confronted by unexpected circumstances."  

I have invested a lot of time into self improvement/personal development, whatever it is you may call it and working on solar farms has really enabled me to focus on growing my mindset, as well as my wallet! Solar farms are not for everyone and in the past I wouldn't have thought they would be for me at all! However, I'm so glad I gave it a go and fell into this life I've been living for the last 4 years as it's given me opportunities to grow as a person, learn new skills, develop my mindset and improve my overall mental health, as well as achieve financial goals - all while working under minimal stress. 

People will complain about the shitty conditions (some very warranted complaints, I might add!), the long hours and rosters and the "boring" repetitive work. I get it. It's menial work. It's sometimes pretty hard, physical work. It's dirty work. RSI is basically expected. BUT... I love it. In my experience, depending on what task you're doing or which crew you're working in, I usually find that I have just the right balance of working independently (I'm an only child so I do well with my alone time!) and being part of a wider team. I'm outside all day, which is sometimes horrendous in extreme weather conditions;- being either too hot, too cold, having dust blast in your face on windy days and slopping and sliding around in muddy ground after rain; but for the most part, always trumps being stuck inside a stuffy air-conditioned office all day. I think being outside more than inside does wonders for the body and mind. I also, always felt tired and sluggish when working 37 hour weeks in offices but can work a solid 11 hour days for 13 days and 1 day off and still feel more alive than I ever did in the 9-5 world. 

I like the fact that, once you know what you're doing, you pretty much know what to expect each day (I mean, except for the random solar farm dramas but that's another blog post haha!). There's enough variety of tasks usually to keep you from going completely insane but what the monotony allows for, is going into your own world and listening to whatever you like on your speaker, phone, or sneaky headphones (don't let safety catch you!) and really go inwards, think, reflect, plan, learn, develop or just entertain yourself to pass the day. 

I have listened to hours and hours and hours worth of podcasts and audiobooks to learn about financial literacy, money management, investing, property investing, a little crypto and also self awareness, personal development and emotional intelligence sprinkled with general motivational content, mindset, manifestation, psychology, health, business, women empowerment and basically anything that sparks my interest. I honestly feel like I've got smarter since doing the least intellectual job I could've ever have imagined I'd be doing. 

I always felt like I was intelligent enough and got good grades in school with minimal effort but I was just never interested. Then when I entered the world of work I went from a dead end job where I felt like one of the smartest people in the office and bored to feeling completely out of my depth and like I didn't fit in with any of the conversations being had in my first marketing job. I only realise now, through hindsight, that I wasn't any less intelligent than the people around me. I was just one of the few REAL people that was more comfortable being my true self than acting in a certain way to fit the mould of what was the expected personality traits of a corporate, flashy account executive full of women tearing each other down to put themselves forward in front of the egotistical men who ran the company. The more I tried to fit in, the weirder I felt in my own body and probably the less likeable I came across to people as I was clearly not being authentic and my own awkwardness made conversations uncomfortable in general. I just couldn't relate to anyone and it chipped away at my self confidence until I was really suffering with who I was mentally. 

It took me a good few years to *find myself* (cringe!) again and truly feel comfortable and in a weird way (people that work on solar farms and hate it are probably thinking what the hell!), working in construction on solar farms has enabled me to get comfortable with myself again and spend time working on building that confidence, as well as finding interests that I can delve into while working. How many corporate/office jobs would you be able to spend the majority of your day putting into your own learning and development in any topic you choose - not what your company tells you that you need to learn - and still perform well in your job AND make bulk money?! 

When I say bulk money, maybe it's not bulk for some people in Australia, especially those in more experienced FIFO roles in the mines or oil and gas etc. or even just those with a qualified trade, like the sparkies on the solar farms. However, for the work we do (as Electrical Trade Assistants) and level of responsibility and lack of overall stress we have, I'd say it's pretty damn good money. 

I started with property investing basics with 'The Property Couch' podcast and then in 2020, when everyone seemed to be taking advantage of the dip and buying shares, I decided I needed to know more about the stock market and how I could start investing some of this good coin I was making. I then listened to the 'Equity Mates' series, 'Get Started Investing' and carried on with their podcast after that. Those were my first two solid steps I took to learn about investing and I listened to so much of their content while working and making money to put into action what I was learning from these two, brilliant-for-beginners podcasts. 

I then started discovering more podcasts that became regular listening for me while I work, walk, gym etc. to this day. I have found the following podcasts super helpful and also enjoyable to listen to, which can be hard with pretty hard-going topics, like investing:

• The Broke Generation
• The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor
• My Millennial Property
• The Property Couch
• Equity Mates
• Girls That Invest
• She's On The Money
• The Property Playbook
• Pizza and Property 
  
  

I have thrown in a few good audio books which were more personal development based for good measure and have found that since listening to all of the above, I am more content, focussed, motivated and have purpose. I want to go to work because I want to make more money to invest in my future and kick more goals because those moments like when we bought our first investment property give a bigger, better and longer lasting dopamine hit than any impulse purchase, thrill or - dare, I say - drug, drink or party, could ever give you. Something my younger self would have scoffed at and thought I was such a bore-off for saying! 

The personal development books that I've read or listened to the audiobooks of and have LOVED and will go back to are:

• Atomic Habits
• The Courage To Be Disliked
• Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck
• Toxic Positivity

And don't judge me too harshly on this one - I can't quite believe I would seriously be recommending a reality star's book but hear me out... For a more light-hearted and actually very motivational audiobook, give 'How To Be A Boss Bitch' by Selling Sunset's Christine Quinn a try. In some ways she is obviously very far from relatable for most of us but in other ways I found her experiences very relatable about how she always felt like she was an outsider and that she was meant for something different etc. and how she was 'unlikeable' to many because of her don't-take-shit-from-no-one attitude. Also, if she wasn't living an absolutely dream lavish lifestyle, there wouldn't be much motivation to strive for success so I think, even if we're not aiming to be uber rich and famous and modelling in Balenciaga fashion shows, there's something for everyone in this book. Or at least for the girls and the gays... not sure I can imagine a rough as guts old country Aussie bloke getting much out of it, to be fair... but you never know?! 😆

I honestly think if you need to learn something or want to focus on a side hustle or something that requires your attention but you also want to make real money, maybe solar farms aren't the only option but they're certainly a good option, especially if you have no construction experience. Alternative options could be getting into more traditional FIFO industries like mining or oil and gas - something that gives you more work/life balance with a rotating roster, giving you a week or two weeks off to explore something you're passionate about on your RnR. However, these types of jobs, I imagine won't really allow you to basically switch off and listen to podcasts and audiobooks all day so that's why I think solar farms can really be used to your advantage in terms of working on something else. 

Working on solar farms and I can imagine the same goes for most types of FIFO work, also allow for great routine, which is something that helps across your whole life. With great routine and habits, we can achieve much more than when we are just winging it and wasting time mindlessly scrolling TikTok or whatever. Trust me, as someone who is usually working 10 or 11 hours a day, to suddenly be home alone, not working, I know how easy it is for routines to slip and when my routine is all out of wack I am so less productive. I miss the strict solar farm routine sometimes as its nice to have structure. Even if I just plan my day the night before and tick off a few items on my overall to do list, I feel much better than when I am just winging it everyday - especially when I'm trying not to waste all of my emergency fund! Having an effective routine also helps with my health and fitness goals so I think there is a lot to be said about solar farm work as they can truly provide an easy way to be forced into a strict routine (unless you wanna feel like shit everyday from not getting enough sleep and drinking most nights, then the routine is definitely not going to happen).

The money you make, plus the good routines and habits you could end up taking on, could mean you can invest in yourself, a business, goals, travel plans, financial goals, fitness goals, education or upskilling even faster than you had expected. Some people I've worked with on solar farms over the years hate the fact that we have such little time outside of work. However, I've learned to see it from another perspective:- how much time I have in the day to build my future. Something that would not be possible when I was working in an office and my mind was muddled, stressed and bored, most of the time. 

I have the following books on my list to read but most likely will be listening to audiobooks if they exist for them while I'm at work again (hopefully in a few weeks!):

• Girls That Invest: Your Guide to Financial Independence through Shares and Stocks
• She's On The Money: Take Charge of Your Financial Future

Let me know if you have any other good recommendations for books or podcasts for me! Also, if you're thinking of getting into solar farm work, feel free to DM me on Instagram @thatfifomoney or send me an email thatfifomoney@gmail.com. I'd be happy to share my experiences with you and give you some tips and tricks on how to get on and how to do well and stay on! I've worked on 6 over the last 4 years so I have some experience to go by!