Accomplish things your character can safely inherit.

Whatever you accomplish, you have to keep being the person who accomplished it, including how you got there. Results built on shortcuts, deception, or people you used come with a history you carry, and it shapes what you are willing to do next because the precedent is already set. Accomplishments your character can hold without strain are the ones worth stacking up.

Before taking a shortcut, ask whether you would be comfortable with it becoming your standard method. Most shortcuts fail that test immediately. The slower route usually costs less than it appears once you count what you would be teaching yourself.