The goal is not to be better than anyone else but rather be better than you were yesterday. — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Positivity is like a boomerang. The more we put it out there, the more it comes back to us. — Jon Gordon Boomerang Copy Share Image
Don't chase success. Decide to make a difference and success will find you. — Jon Gordon Differences Copy Share Image
I never really had a classical saxophone set-up. I just had a middle of the road set up. — Jon Gordon Classical Copy Share Image
Phil [Wood] was known for having a little bit of a gruff manner, but he was all heart. — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Successful people do ordinary things with extraordinary consistency, commitment and focus. — Jon Gordon Commitment Copy Share Image
[Charles McPherson] was kind enough to go to a record gig of mine where we recorded a song of his. — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
[Phil Wood] was a great artist, and he knew things. He could be mildly conversant in several languages. — Jon Gordon Art Copy Share Image
No challenge can stop you if you have the courage to keep moving forward in the face of your greatest fears and… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
When [Charlie Parker] saw the young guys, especially the ones that were scuffling... "Did you eat today?" And if you hadn't eaten,… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
You hear about the struggles with substances and all that, but [Phil Wood] was a really a great guy. This was a… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Negative people often tend to create negative cultures whereas positive corporate cultures are created by positive people. — Jon Gordon Corporate Copy Share Image
[My mother told me] stories about Nat King Cole, and Miles Davis, and seeing pictures in later years with band leaders like… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Ernie Hayes, Jimmy Lewis, and either Belton Evans or Khalil Mahdi on drums [were in Sweet Basil]. All those guys really took… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Many of the people I'm gratified to see have gotten acclaim like Mark Turner or Bill Charlap. Ed Simon or Maria Schneider… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
We were poor [with my mother], and we didn't have too much. So we sat on the floor and we had a… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I was occasionally getting calls for some things. But I would say, 22 to 29 was a lot of scuffling. Hoping to… — Jon Gordon Broadway Copy Share Image
I had made a couple of records in Europe. One as a leader, and one as a sideman before that. It was… — Jon Gordon Couple Copy Share Image
I'm very gratified that I had my little 15 minutes,or whatever [at the Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition]. It certainly didn't make… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
You're not going to have any pension or health care from those $60 nights at you name the club. But I think… — Jon Gordon Art Copy Share Image
I wasn't expecting [the Monk competition] would necessarily do that. So I just did what I did and some good things continued… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I never got to play with Art [ Blakey], but he was kind and spoke to me a number of times. He… — Jon Gordon Art Copy Share Image
I did, I was in Europe a lot. I would say, mid 20s to late 30s. Less so in the last ten… — Jon Gordon Europe Copy Share Image
What I feel the most confident about as a teacher, whatever my strengths and weaknesses are. The fact that I got to… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Percy France told me, similarly, he and Bird used to hang out. They were good buddies. And he said, "Man, we'd just… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
By the latter part of high school, by the middle of junior year in high school, Jay Rodriguez played me some Irakere… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I have worked in the homes of many successful people and have seen firsthand that everyone fails in life, but failure can… — Jon Gordon Adversity Copy Share Image
A man goes to the village to visit the wise man and he says to the wise man, “I feel like there… — Jon Gordon Angry Copy Share Image
Justin [Di Cioccio] was [at Laguardia School of Arts]. He later took over at Manhattan. But I knew Justin through the McDonald's… — Jon Gordon Art Copy Share Image
The Monk competition did open some doors. And I was thankful for that. — Jon Gordon Competition Copy Share Image
We often have to lose what we thought we wanted to find what God wants for us — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Being positive won’t guarantee you’ll succeed. But being negative will guarantee you won’t. — Jon Gordon Being positive Copy Share Image
Things dribbled in in dribs and drabs through my 20s. But it was a struggle. — Jon Gordon Struggle Copy Share Image
![“Phil [Wood] was known for having a little bit of a gruff manner, but he was all heart.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/1a8/jon-gordon-1655_bits_phil-wood-was-known-for-having-a-little_2380492.png)
![“[Charles McPherson] was kind enough to go to a record gig of mine where we recorded a song of his.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/21c/jon-gordon-1655_enough_charles-mcpherson-was-kind-enough-to-go_2291176.png)
![“[Phil Wood] was a great artist, and he knew things. He could be mildly conversant in several languages.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/b0e/jon-gordon-1655_art_phil-wood-was-a-great-artist-and-he-knew_576942.png)
![“When [Charlie Parker] saw the young guys, especially the ones that were scuffling... "Did you eat today?" And if you hadn't eaten, he'd take you and buy you some lunch.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/cb1/jon-gordon-1655_charlie_when-charlie-parker-saw-the-young-guys-e_1498226.png)
![“You hear about the struggles with substances and all that, but [Phil Wood] was a really a great guy. This was a great man.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/536/jon-gordon-1655_great-guy_you-hear-about-the-struggles-with-substa_964059.png)
![“[My mother told me] stories about Nat King Cole, and Miles Davis, and seeing pictures in later years with band leaders like Alvino Ray.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/e42/jon-gordon-1655_band_my-mother-told-me-stories-about-nat-king_1548773.png)
![“Ernie Hayes, Jimmy Lewis, and either Belton Evans or Khalil Mahdi on drums [were in Sweet Basil]. All those guys really took care of me.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/400/jon-gordon-1655_basil_ernie-hayes-jimmy-lewis-and-either-belto_200776.png)
![“We were poor [with my mother], and we didn't have too much. So we sat on the floor and we had a record player, and that's all we had in that room in the apartment. But we had whatever we had. Six records and a record player and it seemed like magic. Seven or eight years old, you know.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/e74/jon-gordon-1655_apartment_we-were-poor-with-my-mother-and-we-didn_3229414.png)
![“I'm very gratified that I had my little 15 minutes,or whatever [at the Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition]. It certainly didn't make me rich and famous. But it helped a little bit for a while.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/8fd/jon-gordon-1655_bits_i-m-very-gratified-that-i-had-my-little_744660.png)
![“I wasn't expecting [the Monk competition] would necessarily do that. So I just did what I did and some good things continued to happen and some doors continued to open and that kind of led me into the different associations that I developed in my 30s and some records that I've made on ArtistShare…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/685/jon-gordon-1655_association_i-wasn-t-expecting-the-monk-competition_885761.jpg)
![“I never got to play with Art [ Blakey], but he was kind and spoke to me a number of times. He said, "You know, the people who are working 40 hours a week. Those are the ones who are really paying dues. Sitting at a desk doing the same thing every day. We're really blessed to do what we do."” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/8e3/jon-gordon-1655_art_i-never-got-to-play-with-art-blakey-but_1156100.png)
![“By the latter part of high school, by the middle of junior year in high school, Jay Rodriguez played me some Irakere records that that Paquito [D'Rivera] was on. And he also played me and our friend, Curtis Haywood, some Phil Woods records. And when I heard Phil, I just about lost my mind. I was…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/b89/jon-gordon-1655_80s_by-the-latter-part-of-high-school-by-the_2544684.jpg)
![“Justin [Di Cioccio] was [at Laguardia School of Arts]. He later took over at Manhattan. But I knew Justin through the McDonald's band, which at the time I was finishing high school and starting college, I got involved with. I was not that heavily involved with the school at MSM my first year…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/275/jon-gordon-1655_art_justin-di-cioccio-was-at-laguardia-schoo_2555432.jpg)
