When I'm feeling cynical, I sometimes wonder whether "the meek shall inherit the Earth" actually means that bullies with limited intelligence are the one who most often get promoted.

Now. Right now. When was the last time you were there? When was the last time you weren’t busy remembering the past or mentally projecting yourself into the future?”

When I first met Dex, we were alone together in a vet's examination room; he had been wandering the streets of Brooklyn, starving almost to death. I was thinking about adopting him, but he was considering a quick escape.

Rule #1 in finding a job is People Hire People They Like. 

Rule #2 is: Re-read Rule #1.

“You are 23 minutes and 42 seconds behind schedule,” the manager warned her subordinate."

Over the years, you’ve acquired quite a nice collection of valuable stuff: skills, insights, experiences, connections, and know-how. Imagine that you keep all these career assets in a big, jam-packed suitcase. Unfortunately, your suitcase has no handle.

You can’t just tell people what you want them to do; you have to follow this system and pay attention to even the tiniest clues you give others.

Last year I stumbled upon the stock photo you see above, and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. It made me think about all the people who work for higher-paid, less talented people than themselves.

This may sound crazy, but it absolutely works.

You don’t need me to tell you that you lack an easy and memorable way to describe the value you add. You’ve probably spent half a decade or more on LinkedIn with a profile that’s so generic you sound like 28 million other professionals. You’re not positioning yourself properly.

Since most readers are over the age of seven, here's a quick reminder of how a seesaw works. You sit on one end, and another person sits at the other. You use your feet to push your side up in the air, which makes the other person's side go down. Then the other person does the same, and your side goes down. You keep taking turns until one of you gets bored, falls off, or has to go home and take a nap.

(This article originally appeared on Forbes.) Aside from referrals, 100% of my new business comes from my activities on LinkedIn, Forbes and SlideShare. Almost every day, someone emails me and asks if I have time to speak with them. It’s now 7:45 a.m., and I’ve already received an inquiry today.

Customer referrals are, hands-down, the most profitable source of new business. They are vastly more credible than any advertisement, email or press release your company might generate.

While in a meeting several years ago, I saw the words "honesty without compassion is cruelty" posted above the other person's desk. It so struck me that I paused the conversation for a moment to absorb the intent.