Getting people to link to you is the best way to get high rankings in Google.
Getting important people to link to you is important. (Theoretically, although lately?…)
Linking to quality sites is also not a bad idea. Because it shows Google that you know what a high quality site is.
It’s a whole mix of things, and no one knows the secret recipe 100%. All you can do is read until your eyes hurt, experiment, and keep building content and getting links.