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 playing the Charlie Parker Omnibook as part of my lessons. This was the '80s. There was no YouTube and all that. And we had three or four jazz records at that point.
Jon GordonI had made a couple of records in Europe. One as a leader, and one as a sideman before that. It was what it was. I started to work with Maria Schneider around that period and some other people, I started to get called to sub at the Vanguard in my mid-20s.
Jon GordonA man goes to the village to visit the wise man and he says to the wise man, โI feel like there are two dogs inside me. One dog is this positive, loving, kind, and gentle dog and then I have this angry, mean-spirited, and negative dog and they fight all the time. I don't know which is going to win.โ The wise man thinks for a moment and he says, โI know which is going to win. The one you feed the most, so feed the positive dog.
Jon GordonWhen you believe, the impossible becomes possible. What you believe will become what is true. Your optimism today will determine your level of success tomorrow. Donโt look at your challenges; look up and look out into the future. Donโt focus on your circumstances. Focus on the right beliefs that will help you build your success.
Jon Gordon