Henry David Thoreau and why nothing is as it seems

Henry David Thoreau and why elendhing is as it seemsHenry David Thoreau and why nothing is as it seemsIn 1845, Henry David Thoreau made a famous pilgrimage to Walden Pond in Massachusetts to live in a tiny cabin that he built in the woods. He went to the woods, as he wrote, to live deliberately to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. He would live on his own means- no electricity and no running water- and like a Spartan, he would suck out all the marrow of life and reduce it to its lowest terms.He recorded his experiences in a book calledWalden, which is assigned in high schools and quoted inHollywood moviesto illustrate the virtues of self-reliance and humankinds connection with nature.I have a confession I hateWalden. Ive been envious of Thoreau- and not in a good way- ever since I read about his pilgrimage to nature. The story reminds me of my own inadequacies.You see, Im a city boy, raised in the urban sprawl of Istanbul- home to 15 million people. I have the soft hands of a typist. I dont own power tools. My work injuries consist of paper cuts (theycanbe nasty). If you put me in a cabin in Walden Pond- cut off electricity, running water, and wi-fi access- I wouldnt survive. So I envy people like Thoreau who can deliberately expose themselves to rough conditions and survive- nay, thrive.A few weeks ago, when I was reading Amanda Palmers excellent bookThe Art of Asking, I discovered a few more details about Thoreaus wild experiment with self reliance.It turns out that the cabin Thoreau built was less than two miles from his house- not in some remote woodland, as the story might imply. Almost every day, he took trips back to civilization, which was walking distance in nearby Concord, Massachusetts. He ate dinner at his buddy Ralph Waldo Emersons houseall the time. My favorite part Every weekend, Thoreaus mother and sister brought him a basket of f reshly baked goods, includingdonuts.The historian Richard Zacks sums it up well Let it be known that Nature Boy went home on weekends to raid the family cookie jar.I dont tell this story to poke fun at Thoreau (okay, maybe a little bit). I tell it because it highlights a far more important lesson The people we put on a pedestal often cant live up to their own legend.Long before social media, people were creating positive curated portrayals of their lives. If Thoreau lived in the age of Instagram, he may have been shooting selfies in front of his self-made cabin, while neglecting to snap photos of himself devouring baked goods freshly delivered to his doorstep.Much of what you see on the Internet isfake. You can purchase 5,000 Instagram followers for$40or get 5,000 YouTube views for$15. There are click farms, which are businesses where hundreds of computers and smartphones play the same content over and over to drive up fake engagement (heresa videoof one at work). People are even po sting fake sponsored content on social media, pretending to be brand ambassadors even though theyre not getting paid. Why? In the influencer world, its street cred,saidBrian Phanthao, himself a self-proclaimed influencer. The more sponsors you have, the more credibility you have.Gloss reflects more than it reveals. Nothing is as it seems.The next time youre tempted to put someone on a pedestal because of the story they tell to the world, just picture Henry David Thoreau- not sucking on the marrow of life- but feasting on his mom-made donuts.Ozan Varol is a rocket scientist turned law professor and bestselling author.Click hereto download a free copy of his e-book, The Contrarian Handbook 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, youll get the Weekly Contrarian - a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).Thisarticlefirst appeared onOzanVarol.com.