"No man is an island" is a famous quote about how our society works - together. We all are inevitably intertwined with one another in a complicated social and economical web. One person's choices will eventually affect another, and even bounce back to them through the loop. Whether you want to call it karma or whatever - it is a fact of life.

In this world, you are often only as strong as the network you have. This is why you need to build strategic alliances throughout your personal and professional life. Just what are strategic alliances? They are basically friendships - bonds, even - that are based on a mutual gain of some sort between you and the party of interest. Strategic alliances are what get you jobs, get you into schools and further your future. Often, having a good network of people and being respected by others is one of the most important tools in surviving socially or working in groups - and this is something that you cannot avoid, regardless of how much of a "non-group" person you are.