“Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.”
Well , yes and no , its not lile you have to start your life from scratch everytime "you feel the heat around the corner.”
It pretty much only applies to people, and then possibly only people not sympathetic with your job.
It's a interesting philosophy for the trade.
People constantly flip and betray others in that line of work....Girlfriends, ex spoues, close friends. In essence "Trust no one".
Most good thieves are not caught red handed, but are prosecuted from the testimony from associates or ex lovers.
Since DeNiros character was the top dog of the outfit, he was smart enough to know that he would be a target.
It makes his character kind of like a warrior in The Seven Samurai (1954).