Reading Into Adam Seeley: A Lens Into His Life
Adam is his name. He’s a typical small town guy who grew up on a farm, went to the local elementary school, did chores and played with his friends. That was until his district changed halfway through the school year, forcing him to move to a school further away with no familiar faces.
It was the first grade and being the new kid in any grade moved halfway through a school year was in his words “social homicide.”
He says that he didn’t have many friends that year. But he took solace in the school library.
“Being in first grade the book selection was limited, but that didn’t stop me. I taught myself to read with the help of my teachers and quickly outgrew picture books. I can remember consuming anything with words. Breakfast cereal boxes, product packaging of any kind, instruction manuals. I worked my way up to novels and couldn’t get enough words. I caught the fever.”
Adam says that nothing beat coming home after school, finishing chores and homework so that he could crack open a good book.
“I loved the smell of books. New books had a lovely scent that always turned me on, in an intellectual manner. Old books with their musty pages smelled amazing too.”
Now fast forward a few years:
“When I was ten we moved from the farm to a new house in the center of a village. We went from being on a big farm, with open fields and forest all around us to a house right in the center of a village with lots of people I didn’t know. I won’t lie, I didn’t handle it well. I developed an anxiety condition and had no interest in making friends. I didn’t need them, I had my books after all.”
Adam says that despite eventually making friends, his anxiety stayed with him.
“My anxiety has influenced my entire life including my reading selections to this very day. Most people would hate that they had anxiety and would want to wish it away. I did for a long time. The reading I’ve done though has helped me realize that I didn’t truly wish it away. My anxiety led me on a search of science regarding human biology, nutrition, psychology, herbal medicine, and philosophy. Mind you, this is all before I turned 18.”
Adam says that he has since beaten anxiety, for the most part, conquered a debilitating case of Lyme disease and an autoimmune thyroid disease. Modern medicine helped solve some of it, holistic some more. He says that it was the cultivation of his mind that really made the difference.
Here is a bit more about what Adam had to share about his reading interests.
Your battle with anxiety. What sort of books helped?
I read self-help books on anxiety which lead me to works by philosophers. I consumed the teachings of Socrates, Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Sun Tzu, and Confucius, and many others. Buddhism, Taoism, and Stoicism all appealed to me as well. Once I started applying philosophy to my life I noticed positive changes.
What about your professional career?
I became a successful salesperson in a few different fields, so I read sales techniques and communication books. They helped me become a more efficient communicator, at least verbally, I am hard to compare to other salespeople due to the tactics I learned from books. This is great because I work hard to make my money and want to hold on to as much as possible.
How are you staying busy these days?
I currently practice real estate in the State of New York. I’m finding that all of the reading I did to get my license, understand marketing and communication and even philosophy has made me a more efficient real estate agent.
Any other interests?
Yes. I also picked up photography. It started with just my cell phone where I would take pictures of cars and buildings I find attractive. It evolved and I started reading up on technique and equipment. While photography is more hands-on, it never hurts to have a grasp on the basics of the art form.
What are some of your other reading interests?
Self-help will always have a special place in my heart. After all, it helped me get pass myself. It allowed me to learn time management, communication, meditation, anxiety tricks, and build confidence. It was my gateway to philosophy as well. Philosophy opened my mind to fear, and the sense of self (ego), emotions and logic. I owe so much in my life to Stoicism and that all stemmed from self-help books.
In terms of business books, the best thing I learned was that I was not working for my employer but rather for myself. Because I needed to learn more about sales and business, I read books by Brian Tracy, Grant Cardone, Tim Ferris, Gary Vaynerchuk and a ton of others. Those guys have so much good information, some actionable and some philosophical.
Fantasy books appeal to me as well. Who doesn’t want to escape reality sometimes. through Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones? Their worlds are so different and yet the same as ours. I like to dive into other universes and connect with characters in those universes.
So what are your three favorite books of 2018?
Only three? [LAUGHTER] You are making this one tough. I’ll have to really think about it. 2018 is a tough year for me. I made some personal changes that impacted every reach of my life. A close family member was told that they have a rare form of lymphoma and it scared the shit out of me. So I doubled down on science and realized that I fear what I don’t understand. I’ve read everything that I could get my hands on. I’ve come to discover that this form of cancer is so rare that there are only a handful of papers written on the subject, none very encouraging. This lead to despair and more anxiety which has lead to anxiety and some of my own health issues.
How has all of this informed your reading interests?
Well, I dove into philosophy again. That brings me my three favorite books of 2018.
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday: This book is so impactful because Ryan takes philosophy and brings it down to a normal intelligence level. He breaks it down so the layman can understand more of it. It’s refreshing to read philosophy without realizing I’m reading philosophy.
This book is helping me realize that life is full of obstacles. Lack of money, lack of education, fear, disease, people and relationships. Most people see an obstacle and turn back to their pre-obstacle existence or they get mad and sit there pretending that they are making progress. Ryan’s book teaches us that the obstacle is a challenge and we must face that challenge. I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone. Just read it, it’s worth your time unless you are a Socrates scholar and all you do is read philosophical books in ancient Greek or Latin.
12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson: Say what you want about the man but politics aside, he’s a damn good debater and his videos peaked my interest. I started consuming his lectures on YouTube and when I heard about his book release, I did what any normal American would do. I preordered it on Kindle to ensure faster delivery than going to a brick and mortar bookstore.
This book covers so much, but it really impacted the way I carry myself both physically and emotionally. I worry less, because when has worry ever solved anything? I learned about telling the truth and a good argument on why to do so.
Crushing It by Gary Vaynerchuk: I started reading this because I wanted to build my brand as a real estate agent and this man knows how to build brands. I have read almost all of Gary’s books at least four times or more. They are full of actionable advice and some light observations about business philosophy.
From this book, I decided that instead of building my brand as a real estate agent, I’ll brand me, Adam Seeley. Because I’m not just a real estate agent, or photographer, or salesperson, or handyman. Why should I brand just those guys?
Your favorite places to read?
I love to read anywhere. I squeeze it in anytime, anywhere I can. I read in cafe’s, the line in the supermarket, my bed, at my desk, my local park, on my commute, even when I drive using audiobooks.
My favorite place to read is probably a cafe that has access to a busy street of people. Call me crazy but all the noise blends together and is like white noise. I can concentrate incredibly well surrounded by chaos. Being a volunteer firefighter taught me this.
That’s so cool.
Yea, and If I’m reading fiction I like to take breaks and look up from my book with a great cup of coffee or tea in hand and watch people. Sometimes I’ll make up stories about their day or why they are acting the way they do. I feel this builds empathy towards my fellow human beings.
For example, if I see an angry man yelling at the car in front of him I wonder why the man is angry. Did he wake up late and is in a rush? Someone he knows got injured and he’s worried? Maybe he doesn't feel well and is taking it out on others around him.
Sounds you really enjoy people watching?
Sure do. Sometimes I’ll see a young couple talking at a table across the room from me and begin wondering “Where did they meet? When did they know they were in love? Why did he pick that shirt today?” All of this makes me feel like a weirdo sometimes but hey, we all have our tics. It also leads me to photograph some moments in time that might otherwise go unnoticed or unremembered.
Traditional paper, digital or audiobooks?
Well now, this is just madness. It’s a love-hate with all of the above.
Paper books smell amazing. A new book smells so good, its right there with fresh strong coffee and baked apple pie for me. Old books smell amazing with their musty, earthy scent. The texture of the different papers, smooth or velvety or slightly abrasive, the sound of the page as it turns and then slides against the adjoining page- almost erotic to us book lovers.
But, storage and transportation of the materials are less sexy. I have no problem carrying one book with me, it even makes me feel more atttractive. But, the minute I need to carry more than one, it feels cumbersome. I have shelves of old books at home, they take up so much space. I love to look at them and I hate to dust them. Also, I’m deadset against marking my pages up with annotations and highlights. So I’m a note taker and hate when someone puts their handwriting in my pages.
And digital?
Digital is so practical. My Kindle is so light and before I killed it, I had something like 300 books on it. Try carrying those many with you. [LAUGHTER]. I think only Hermione Granger could do it with her special little bag. I wouldn’t look so great carrying her little magic clutch. But, digital books are so impersonal. No scent, no tactile feedback. Not sexy at all.
And audiobooks?
Audiobooks are great when I’m doing near mindless work like cooking, exercising, commuting( I absorb less when driving but I still get something), laying down. I even sometimes listen to a reference book while sleeping because I figure somewhere in my subconscious I’m absorbing it, even if science can’t prove its true.
What is your all-time favorite book and author?
I don’t think I can do it. Pick just one? Nope can’t.
So I’ll give you three-ish. Sorry, not really.
As a kid, I read this book, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. I was so enamored with that book. I loved everything about it. The idea of running away and living on my own with a raptor to keep me company was so captivating. What little boy wouldn’t like that?
The second is the series by none other than J.R.R Tolkien. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series. That entire series is genius. The man wrote entire languages for the universe and an entire lore to back everything up. There are so many metaphorical references in the series. I could write a series of interviews on these books series, but I won’t bore you with that. Plus, there are tons of blogs out there on this series.
The third is also a series, Harry Potter. It’s one of my favorite universes. I can remember reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, under my blankets with a flashlight and a large bar of chocolate. I remember standing in line at the local bookstore, feeling absolutely miserable from the flu, to pick up a copy of The Order of the Phoenix. I was determined to get that book and read it. I brought it home and read it that night, in its entirety. Not a brilliant move as a violently ill flu patient. Worth it, though!
I still crack open my paper copies of these books every other year or so to revisit my old friends in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There is even a chocolate stain on a page in book three, reminding me of my time as a child getting lost in those pages.
J.R.R Tolkien is probably one of my favorite authors as he put so much work in the lore of the universe he created. The man threw himself into those words he hand wrote and typed. I like others as well, but I feel as if I may have gone overboard with these questions and gotten lost in my own past.
Finally, your thoughts on the intersection between books and your growing love of photography?
This question is both philosophical and practical in nature. Philosophically a book can show you how to examine your views about the world. Thus, how you might capture the world through your lens.
Some of my favorite images are of man-made objects. Cars are beautiful machines that we as humans created. The curves of the body lines, either for the eye or physics, are attractive. There is something sexy about those lines. If my eye is drawn to those lines, someone else’s will be too. My camera allows me to capture those lines.
What I’m learning is that coming into a photography session with beginners mind is something philosophy books have taught me to do every day. Understanding human psychology and physiology and all the other sciences of the art makes for a more pleasing image. Sure you could just go out and start snapping photos with no knowledge and learn it all on your own. But why reinvent the wheel.