Be flexible

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change. (Charles Darwin)
Mathematical research is by its nature unpredictable
if we knew in advance what
the answer would be and how to do it, it wouldn t be research! You should therefor
e be prepared for research to lead you in unexpected directions, and it may end
up that you may find a new problem or area of mathematics more interesting than
the one you were initially working in. (See also Don t be afraid to learn things ou
tside your field and Learn the power of other mathematician s tools .)
Thus, while it is certainly worthwhile to have long-term goals, they should not
be set in stone, and should be updated when new developments occur. One corollar
y to this is that one should not base a career decision (such as what university
to study at or work in) purely based on a single faculty member, since it may t
urn out that this faculty member may move, or that your interests change, while
you are there. (See also Don t base career decisions on glamour or fame .)
Another corollary is that it is generally not a good idea to announce that you a
re working on a well-known problem before you have a feasible plan for solving i
t, as this can make it harder to gracefully abandon the problem and refocus your
attention in more productive directions in the event that the problem is more d
ifficult than anticipated. (See also Don t prematurely obsess on a single big probl
em or big theory .)
This is also important in grant proposals; saying things like I would like to sol
ve <Famous Problem X> or I want to develop or use <Famous Theory Y> does not impres
s grant reviewers unless there is a coherent plan (e.g. some easier unsolved pro
blems to use as milestones) as well as a proven track record of progress.