Are You Living Deliberately?

I’m on to my next book.  It’s considered a classic by many, the book is Walden by Henry David Thoreau. The premise of the book is quite interesting, as Thoreau writes about what he calls “living deliberately.”

He removed himself from what society would have called normal life and moves to a squatter’s cabin to see how simply he can live. He wanted to experience real life and learn the lessons of nature.

Many of his conclusions relate around how much we have, compared to how much we really need to survive. When you think about how basic our fundamental needs really are (clothing, shelter, warmth, and nourishment), we really are blessed with so much extra.

We can lose sight of the struggle that so many have fought just for survival. Beyond survival, Thoreau believes that when we fill our lives with the “extras” of life it can hurt society in general. Here’s a quote from page 16:

“Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts, of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.”

He also believes, as do I, that growth and learning comes from learning and application and not just information.

“To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live, according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically.”

At a core level Thoreau believed that by living in luxury men degenerate due to the loss of connection to struggle. In the simplicity of living a life of “getting your hands dirty” and survival one respected the universal laws which govern societies, mankind, and government.

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Carl Woolston is a business and marketing consultant with KGaps Consulting, a co-creator of the proprietary marketing methodology “Hub Mentality,”, and a co-founder of The Center for Social Leadership.

His expertise includes network development, marketing, web strategy development, lead creation, and lead capture strategies.

He and his wife Christy are raising their six rambunctious children in Bountiful, Utah.

Connect With Carl:

Email: carl [at] kgaps [dot] com