So Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching his flock.  He said to them, “I have noticed that your father’s attitude toward me has changed. But the God of my father has been with me. You know how hard I have worked for your father, but he has cheated me, changing my wages ten times. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm.”

Genesis 31:4-7

Jacob outwitted Laban the Aramean, for they set out secretly and never told Laban they were leaving. So Jacob took all his possessions with him and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the hill country of Gilead.
Genesis 31:20-21

• A woman’s status would be tentative if she did not bear children. A barren woman could be, and sometimes was, discarded, ostracized, or given a lower status. She relied on her family for protection.
• The coloring of goats and sheep chosen by Jacob typically made up a small proportion of the herd. Certain methods could help breed healthy animals and strengthen the herd. “What is not scientific, however, is the principle that certain characteristics (coloration in this case) can be bred for through visual arts. The stripped rod which Jacob places before the troughs of the sheep  cannot genetically affect the sheep.” IVP Bible Background Old Testament Commentary  This kind of thinking was found in many ancient folk traditions. https://www.gotquestions.org/Jacob-speckled-spotted.html
• Jacob did not need these folk traditions. God had already revealed what HE was going to do. “One time during the mating season, I had a dream and saw that the male goats mating with the females were streaked, speckled, and spotted. Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I replied, ‘Yes, here I am.’“The angel said, ‘Look up, and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen how Laban has treated you.
  Genesis 31:10-12
• Household gods were associated with luck and prosperity of the family.
• Jacob trusted in God, but sometimes also took matters into his own hands. He tried to utilize cultural tradition to accomplish what God had already planned to do.

Trust that God will do as He says. Work hard in whatever way He calls us to work, but don’t try to accomplish God’s plan in a way that God has not called us to do.