My mum (a librarian) taught me to read. My love of books, of reading and writing is one of the most important things in my life.
Advice wise, one thing that sticks out is her telling me never to give up friends because of a bloke. It must have worked - I'm with a bloke who was my friend first.

There's a bit in Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy:

"It's times like these when I wish I'd listened to my mother."
"Why, what did she say?"
"I don't know, I didn't listen."