"Don't Lose the Rope with the Goat" and Other Wise Advice from My Mother

 In an interview for a Mother's Day article, a reporter asked me to talk about the best career advice that my Mother ever gave me.
My Mom gives me a lot of advice, but it has never been particularly career-oriented.  Nevertheless, I have found that her wisdom can be applied to all aspects of my life, including my professional life.
As I answered the reporter's question, I struggled to translate my Mom's advice from her original Spanish, not just because of the language, but because my Mom speaks in funny anecdotes that may not make much sense to you at the moment.
Writer Emily Moore, captured motherly career advice from my Mom and 12 other professionals in her article for Glassdoor.com, the employers rating website.
Here is the section on my Mom:
"Although my mother only has [a] middle-school formal education level, she is one of the wisest persons that I know... Roughly translated, one of the best pieces of advice that she has given me is 'Try not to lose the rope trying to catch the goat.' What she means by this is that when you have something (a rope, a job), don't throw it out trying to get the next thing (a goat, a venture) — that rope can help you catch many other goats if you learn how to use it.
I have heeded my mother's advice by building on my career from my steady base as a tenured professor.  From this position, I have written a book, built a consulting business and helped others build their own careers. So I feel that I have used my rope to catch many goats."

To read the full article and see pictures of each contributor with our mothers, click HERE .