Interpret this quote March to the beat of a different drummer.?

The first (but incorrect) answer to this quote was given as:

"I believe that this quote saying that the individual is a conformist and follows other's opinions. Rather than forming his own thoughts and ideas, he simply accepts other's ideolgies in an effort to fit in. This is the opposite to the quote "marches to the beat of his own drum" which says the individual is not a conformist and creates his own opinions and ideas."

However, the full quote is "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." The quote comes from 'Walden' by Henry David Thoreau. The quote actually means just the opposite of what the first person to answer this said. The individual is actually a nonconformist. He has chosen to go along a path different from his peers. Who is to say which direction is correct, just say that we all have our own paths and we should go where our hearts and minds guide us.