“ Imitation is suicide;” is the most direct and accurate way to summarize Ralph Waldo Emerson's beliefs. Emerson wrote a work entitled “Self – Reliance”, from which the last excerpt was taken; discussing his beliefs on how every man should approach life. Self-reliance theory is based on thinking for yourself and not relying on the ideas of others. His following was strong, but probably his most famous follower was Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau became a close friend of Emerson while studying with him. So close, in fact, that Emerson allowed Thoreau to build a small cabin on his land near Walden Pond. This is where Thoreau wrote his popular book Walden. In Walden, you can see the influence Emerson's beliefs had on Thoreau. Thoreau was living the idea of ​​self-confidence in its truest form. He built a small cabin in the woods near Walden Pond, more than a mile from the nearest town. The cabin was nothing more than necessary and was not luxurious in any way. Which coincides perfectly with Emerson's writings that one should love oneself and not the property one owns. Many people look at material objects and judge a person based on those, instead of judging them for who they really are. His humble home contained a minimal amount of furniture; which in itself also followed the guidelines of self-sufficiency. Emerson wrote that when he has company, he does not try to please and entertain them. He feels like his company has to try to please him. Thoreau has a simple lifestyle because he doesn't need to impress anyone as long as he is happy. This separation from civilization allowed him to be himself without the influence of the outside world. Although Thoreau was still walking... middle of paper... he is very close to Emerson's description in "Self – Reliance". It fulfills Emerson's ideal of a self-sufficient person as much as I can imagine possible. I am denying the fact that Thoreau obviously takes these ideas from Emerson and are not his own, because you cannot follow Emerson's guidelines without studying and learning them. Following the guidelines of “Self – Reliance” is impossible because accepting these rules as your own means taking Emerson's ideas and not your own. In my opinion Emerson doesn't want everyone to move to the woods and live alone. Just to stay wherever you are and find your genius in your mind. Don't worry about what the world says about what you do. Thoreau didn't have to move to the woods to achieve self-confidence, yet I get the feeling Emerson wanted him to figure it out on his own.