Rule 22

I am sure you're wondering how this applies. This Rule brings up a very important point – about moving away from things in order to get closer to them. Very Art of War! It’s important to not pursue jobs and make sure that they're pursuing you. Otherwise, you'll never be able to command the full amount for your skills, and you'll never know if you were the second choice they had to settle for. That’s no way to start a career with a company. It limits the amount of energy behind you; your upward trajectory will be minimal at best.

Remaining independent is key. Employers value those who are self-starters over those they will have to do a lot of hand holding with. It applies the most once you're on the job. Bring very little to work with you. Pictures of loved ones, stuffed animals, trinkets, and tchotskes – none of these have any place in your office or cubicle. Keep personal computer files off your work computer; likewise with personal email. If you were to be let go tomorrow, would you be able to leave without leaving anything critical behind?

I carry a USB-based flash memory stick. It holds 256 MB of files, and I don't know how I ever got along without it. Anything personal that I so happen to collect at work, I now put on this little gizmo the size of a key ring fob – the same day that I get it. Each day, I transfer it to my PC when I get home. I'm never caught short, thinking, gee, if only I'd thought to save these screen captures of the code I did. Or wow, if only I'd saved these links to these cool sites. Remember that your email is monitored; this is much better than having to email any of these things home to your personal account.