THE OPINION OF OTHERS: WHAT'S IT WORTH?

My friend just said to me today that the first piece of advice he'd give to anyone embarking on a spiritual path is to ignore what others think of you. (I remember being in this heady state as a teenager.)

Obviously, this is Nietzsche's way too, escaping from a "slave" mentality of continually seeking to please.

But I've also heard that conscience is nothing more than the internalised representation of what you consider to be the judgement of at least some others, if not the whole of society.

Is conscience no more than the voice of convention? Is it something to grow out of as we forge our own judgements?