June 22, 2025 • 15 mins
Original Air Date: June 22, 2025
Louis Henry Mitchell is a Q104.3 listener who has one of the best jobs on earth: he’s the creative director of character design for Sesame Workshop. He’s out with a book to help people find their purpose. It’s called “Qreative Evolution”.
Louis Henry Mitchell is a Q104.3 listener who has one of the best jobs on earth: he’s the creative director of character design for Sesame Workshop. He’s out with a book to help people find their purpose. It’s called “Qreative Evolution”.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, conversations about issues that matter.
Here's your host, three time Grasie Award winner, Shelley Sunstein.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I want to introduce you to a Q one O
four point three listener who is part of our early
morning Shelley's shout outs. In fact, I think that's how
we got to know Lewis Henry Mitchell. It was from
the shout outs which we began for those who don't
know during the pandemic, and we started it at five
(00:33):
point forty this morning in the morning, really as a
heads up and a thank you to the essential workers
who were heading in early in the morning during the
pandemic when the rest of us were staying home, and
Lewis Henry Mitchell would always join us with a big smile.
(00:53):
You could see his smile from the text, and he
didn't have a smiley face because he has one of
the best jobs on earth, and that being the creative
director of character design for Sesame Workshop, which by the way,
it had been in danger because they lost their contract
(01:14):
and now they're going to be back on PBS, but
it's also going to be streaming on Netflix. Netflix saved
Sesame Street. That's like the headline Netflix Saved Sesame Street.
So Lewis, Hello, Hi.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Shelly, how are you there?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Thanks for having I'm great. And the reason Lewis is
joining us this morning is that in two days on Tuesday,
his new book will be out, which you can buy,
which is called Creative Evolution, The Intimate Practice of Creative
Fulfillment through Guided Self Education. What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well, actually, you know what. The subtitle has changed. Oh yeah,
only only because they felt that there would be something
that would explain a little bit more about why I
spelled creation with a que. Right, So now the subtitle
is how to question Everything to find your create a fulfillment.
And that's why I put a queue there, because I
(02:14):
want you to question everything about your life in order
to be able to explore it more.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
That actually makes more sense to me, because the other
was I thought this is too deep. This is just
too deep. That's me.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
That's for my school. I intend to start an art
school eventually, and that's actually the purpose statement for the school.
But I figured I would use it on the book
to introduce it that way, but it didn't work out,
and I'm glad it didn't work out because this is
much better.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Okay, So, unlike most people, you kind of recognized at
the ripe old age of six what you wanted to
do with your life.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Explain, well, when I was watching the At Sullivan Show,
remember the Sullivant Show.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Oh sure, beetles, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Well, I didn't care about the Beetles. I kep Muppets
because when Ed sell of them say and here come
the Muppets whatever he said, I do a sliding run
in front of the TV. That was my time, and
I'd watched the Muppets, and you know, I always loved him.
And then at the end, Jim Henson would come out
to shake at Sullivan's hand, and I didn't care about
him either because I didn't know who that was. But
then one day he came out and he still had
(03:25):
Kermit on his hand, and that's when it blew my mind, said,
you mean a man was doing that again? Six years
old back then was different than six years old now.
But that's when it triggered. Something snapped in my head
that never snapped back, and I considered that's when I
got hired for Sesame Street, because again I was only six.
But it never left my heart, never left my mind.
(03:47):
I kept searching out for more and more about the
muppets and everything, and then eventually I saw Sesame Street
without even realizing what I was watching. I saw the
claymation at the beginning that was forming the words Sesame Street,
and I didn't know what I was watching, but I loved,
so I kept watching. Then I started seeing puppets that
look like the ones I saw India Sullivan show, So
wonder if it's the same man. Sure enough, it was
(04:08):
Jim Henson, and he became like my first real hero
creatively anyway, as far as our goes. He's the first
person that really turned on that thing that I needed
turned on. It was already in me, but it was
Jim Henson that turned it on, and that's how I
got to says some she basically, at what age.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Did you know that you were so good at art? When?
When did it start?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Well, you know, the thing is that all kids are.
They all start drawing before they start to ride or
you know, speak even and it's something that children just
have kind of innately, is that they're talked out of
it as time goes on. That's the thing. Goodness. My
mother kept encouraging me to keep drawing. But yeah, it
was just that something that I just kept doing, and
(04:54):
eventually his teachers started seeing it. There was a gift there,
and more and more people were encouraging me. So I
didn't think about a career back, especially at six years old.
But as time went on, I started realizing there are
other people that are professional artists, either comic books or painters,
and I said, maybe I can do that too. So
it just clicked because you know, kids know they're great artists.
(05:15):
And there is this great story about a little girl
that was drawing a face and the teacher came and said,
see that's very nice. Who is that going to be?
Is that a picture of your mommy? No? No, so
is that a picture of your daddy? So no, who's
that a picture of?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
It?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Said? What's the picture of God? Said, well, sweeter, nobody
knows what God looks like. And she said, well they
will when I'm done. That's when kids know they're great artists.
So you don't have to really try to teach them
how to be honest. You have to protect them so
they can continue to be artists throughout their lives.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I am speaking with Lewis Henry Mitchell. He is the
creative director of character design for Sesame Workshop. Name some
of the characters you've created so people have a point
of reference, because I mean, you really do live the
life when it comes to your job.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yes, it's such a gift. I'm so grateful for it. Well,
I guess I designed quite a few. We have what's
called the RC Muppets. They're on the race, ethnicity and culture.
So there's let's see some of the new ones are like,
her name is Nave from from Ireland. Then we have
tj Ever been from the Philippines. They have different ones.
(06:26):
But the most famous muppet I designed, her name is Julia.
She's the autism muppet for Sesame Street. And the weird
thing about that is that I have been volunteering on
at the school on Staten Island as a friend of
mine Rachel London, Well, Rachel and McCarter. Now, she said, Louis,
she'd be great to go and help these kids. I said,
but I'm not trained for them, and she said, you
(06:46):
just have to love them. I said, well, I can
do that because I love kids. And when I fell
in love with all these kids and worked with two
kids on the spectrum and Sesame Street didn't know that
I was doing that, just like I didn't know Sesame
Street was working on and for autism. So it was
this beautiful, serendipitous thing that happened. When I come in,
I had to stop because I was using all my
vacation days to volunteer. So I was felt bad that
(07:10):
I had to stop. But I was in my office
and doctor Jeannette Bettencourt, the person in charge of the
Autorism initiative, came and said, Luis, you know, we have
a brand new character. We've been working on this autism
initiative for ten years and now we think we know
how to begin. After ten years, they learned how to
begin the process is we need a new character. And
that's when she came to me for Julia and the
(07:31):
rest is like history, I guess, they.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Say, working for Sesame Workshop. Although it was a dream
for you, the dream did not come easily. At one point,
at the last point, tell this story. You were ready
to just stop. Yes, you had applied, applied, applied. Take
it from there, Lewis.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yes, I had, you know, because a dream was to
actually work for Jim Henson Nonsessment. She well, I wanted
so badly to work then, and I kept sending my
portfolio and they said, oh, your portfolio is wonderful, but
we don't have anything right now. I said, okay, well
I'll just keep trying. So I would add another piece
here and there and it said submitted again, and they
(08:13):
were like, oh, wonderful, but we don't have anything for you.
And I had a teacher in college that told me, Louis,
you're aiming way too high. Sessama sheet, that's way too high.
You should make the kind of goals that you can
actually meet. But sessame chet, that's aiming way too high.
And at first I believed them. My mother told me
that he doesn't work there, so don't listen to him.
(08:33):
So I kept on trying and it took me eight months.
That last month I was submitting it. That last four weeks,
I was submitting it every week, hoping that something would happen,
because that teacher can't be right. I know I belong here.
But after that eighth week, that last week, I went
and say, no, what if I don't get some kind
(08:53):
of real work. Yeah, they're saying nice things about my work,
but if I don't get a real job, out of this.
Maybe the teacher was right, maybe need to quit. So
I said, I'm going to leave it one more time.
If I don't get something positive, that's it. So sure enough,
I left it there and I went back home and
there was a message waiting for me. Remember the old cassette. Yeah,
(09:15):
the light was beeping, I mean was blinking, and I said, wow,
I wonder if that's from Sesame Street. I said it's
probably not listened to it, it's sure enough. It was
a man named Jim Mayon who became like my mentor.
And he said, you know, I really like your work.
I had heard your portfolio was going on. I hadn't
seen me yet, but when I saw it, I thought
you could do some work for us. I'd like to
get you started on the projects. Can you call me
(09:36):
up and we can have a meeting. And I listened
to I wore that tape out. I just kept playing
it over and over again because it's like my dream
is coming true Sesame Street. So finally I went and
met when the men needed. Sure enough, it was a
wonderful opportunity. I became the number one licensing artist for
like three years, and then they asked me to come
on full time. So I believe in dreams coming true.
(09:58):
I don't dreams are not fantasies. Dream a seeds. You
just have to warn them until they get to the
place where they actually start to sprout, and then you
have to cultivate. You have to do the weeding that.
There are going to be people that say you can't
do this, you can't do that. Those are the weeds,
not the people. But the things they're saying are the weeds.
You have to plug out so you can continue to
go on the path that you know is yours. I
(10:18):
knew it was mine in my heart.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
What about people who aren't sure of what their dream is?
I mean, you and I both agree that everyone has
a purpose in life. Yes, some people are lucky enough
to be aware of that purpose. I think most are not.
How do you become aware of your purpose? What do
(10:45):
you have to open in your mind, in your body? What?
Speaker 3 (10:51):
So this is a very good question, Shelly, and I
didn't really have an answer until I wrote my book
Creative Evolution. That really helped me to really understand this. So,
if you don't have a purpose, or you don't know
what your purpose yet is, that means you yourself are
your purpose. You have to become the best person that
you can be. Go back and look at your health,
(11:13):
go back and look at whatever education you might have,
go back and just start making yourself your own assignment.
When you do that, you start getting healthier, you start
getting clearer, and then whatever that other purpose might be,
it's going to be revealed to you once you get
rid of all the things that are kind of distracting you.
So that's what it is. Your purpose is you until
(11:34):
you find what the other purpose really is.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
How do you encourage people who, like you, kept getting
rejected and like you said, you were about to give
up that dream.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Yes, Well I learned. It took a while to learn this,
but I learned that the rejection is actually a form
of direction. If somebody's saying no, that means you don't
belong in that direction. But you have to keep looking
for the yes, keep on striving for the things that
you're looking for. Like me, I kept on going for
sesame until I got the yes, even though I came
(12:08):
close to giving up. But I think that was just
testing my wherewithal to see if I really really wanted this,
because after eight months of trying, it was really difficult,
but sure enough I stayed with it, and that's what happens.
People just have to stay with it. Things are revealed
to those We don't decide our libr We shouldn't decide
we should discover it, because there's something already in there.
(12:32):
I really believe it's revealed in childhood. But a lot
of times people think children don't really know enough. Like
when I was a kid, I knew about Sesame Street.
Probably when you were a child, you knew you wanted
to talk to people and share. So the thing is
that if you stay on your path, eventually it's going
to be revealed to you what it's for. But a
lot of people have talked out of it way too early,
(12:52):
and that shouldn't be talked out of it at all,
because you need to at least try something. The only
way you really know something's not for you is by
doing it, reveal itself whether it's for you or not.
By the doing, you don't ever have to sit back
and try to figure things out. Who can figure out anything.
You have to follow your heart. That's how I got
dissed Mistry.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
He anuway, we only have about a minute and a
half left. What if we not touched on that you
want our audience to know either about you or Creative Evolution,
your book that's coming out this coming Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
One of the things I say in Creative Evolution is
that everyone's an artist. Everyone. I know people don't think
that way, but everyone is an artist because what you're
actually creating is your life. Everybody's creating your life, whether
they know it or not. The decisions you make, the
things you turn down, the things you accept, all those
are like you're almost like your paints, your different colors,
(13:47):
and you're actually making a masterpiece. You just have to
be deliberately moving in that direction. Do it on purpose,
you know, create your life as an artist working on
your artwork rather than just trying to see where it
goes or see what happens. Be engaged, be intentional about
the direction that you are goes. And also, I like
(14:09):
to think of myself as a child. I'm still that
six year old kid that so Jean Henson on at Sullivan.
That's why I'm still excited and thrilled about life. And
that's the direction I go in as a child. I
keep that red at the floor.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Front, you know, Lewis. I have a theory on life
and that is half of it is choice and half
of it is fate. So I think the fate part
of it is that things come into your path, and
the choice is do you do those things? Do you
(14:41):
enter into a relationship with this person? It's all laid
out for you. But then you have the choice, and
a lot of people are afraid of making that choice,
so they miss out on these opportunities. But that's just me.
That's how that's how I feel.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
I'll work for you.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Yes, yes it did. And let me tell you, I
was terrified when I was offered my first radio job.
I was absolutely terrified. But I did it. But I
did it, and I did it without taking what did
my father tell me to take? No, it wasn't xanax
at the time, I forget. But I thought to myself, well,
(15:22):
if I take that before I go on the air,
I'm going to have to take it every time I
go on the air. So I'm not going to do that.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Good for you.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
So the book is creative evolution. Thank you so much,
Lewis Henry Mitchell for being you and for being a
Q one O four point three listener.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
You've been listening to Sunstein sessions on iHeartRadio. A production
of New York's classic rock Q one O four point
three
Welcome to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, conversations about issues that matter.
Here's your host, three time Grasie Award winner, Shelley Sunstein.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I want to introduce you to a Q one O
four point three listener who is part of our early
morning Shelley's shout outs. In fact, I think that's how
we got to know Lewis Henry Mitchell. It was from
the shout outs which we began for those who don't
know during the pandemic, and we started it at five
(00:33):
point forty this morning in the morning, really as a
heads up and a thank you to the essential workers
who were heading in early in the morning during the
pandemic when the rest of us were staying home, and
Lewis Henry Mitchell would always join us with a big smile.
(00:53):
You could see his smile from the text, and he
didn't have a smiley face because he has one of
the best jobs on earth, and that being the creative
director of character design for Sesame Workshop, which by the way,
it had been in danger because they lost their contract
(01:14):
and now they're going to be back on PBS, but
it's also going to be streaming on Netflix. Netflix saved
Sesame Street. That's like the headline Netflix Saved Sesame Street.
So Lewis, Hello, Hi.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Shelly, how are you there?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Thanks for having I'm great. And the reason Lewis is
joining us this morning is that in two days on Tuesday,
his new book will be out, which you can buy,
which is called Creative Evolution, The Intimate Practice of Creative
Fulfillment through Guided Self Education. What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well, actually, you know what. The subtitle has changed. Oh yeah,
only only because they felt that there would be something
that would explain a little bit more about why I
spelled creation with a que. Right, So now the subtitle
is how to question Everything to find your create a fulfillment.
And that's why I put a queue there, because I
(02:14):
want you to question everything about your life in order
to be able to explore it more.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
That actually makes more sense to me, because the other
was I thought this is too deep. This is just
too deep. That's me.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
That's for my school. I intend to start an art
school eventually, and that's actually the purpose statement for the school.
But I figured I would use it on the book
to introduce it that way, but it didn't work out,
and I'm glad it didn't work out because this is
much better.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Okay, So, unlike most people, you kind of recognized at
the ripe old age of six what you wanted to
do with your life.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Explain, well, when I was watching the At Sullivan Show,
remember the Sullivant Show.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Oh sure, beetles, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Well, I didn't care about the Beetles. I kep Muppets
because when Ed sell of them say and here come
the Muppets whatever he said, I do a sliding run
in front of the TV. That was my time, and
I'd watched the Muppets, and you know, I always loved him.
And then at the end, Jim Henson would come out
to shake at Sullivan's hand, and I didn't care about
him either because I didn't know who that was. But
then one day he came out and he still had
(03:25):
Kermit on his hand, and that's when it blew my mind, said,
you mean a man was doing that again? Six years
old back then was different than six years old now.
But that's when it triggered. Something snapped in my head
that never snapped back, and I considered that's when I
got hired for Sesame Street, because again I was only six.
But it never left my heart, never left my mind.
(03:47):
I kept searching out for more and more about the
muppets and everything, and then eventually I saw Sesame Street
without even realizing what I was watching. I saw the
claymation at the beginning that was forming the words Sesame Street,
and I didn't know what I was watching, but I loved,
so I kept watching. Then I started seeing puppets that
look like the ones I saw India Sullivan show, So
wonder if it's the same man. Sure enough, it was
(04:08):
Jim Henson, and he became like my first real hero
creatively anyway, as far as our goes. He's the first
person that really turned on that thing that I needed
turned on. It was already in me, but it was
Jim Henson that turned it on, and that's how I
got to says some she basically, at what age.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Did you know that you were so good at art? When?
When did it start?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Well, you know, the thing is that all kids are.
They all start drawing before they start to ride or
you know, speak even and it's something that children just
have kind of innately, is that they're talked out of
it as time goes on. That's the thing. Goodness. My
mother kept encouraging me to keep drawing. But yeah, it
was just that something that I just kept doing, and
(04:54):
eventually his teachers started seeing it. There was a gift there,
and more and more people were encouraging me. So I
didn't think about a career back, especially at six years old.
But as time went on, I started realizing there are
other people that are professional artists, either comic books or painters,
and I said, maybe I can do that too. So
it just clicked because you know, kids know they're great artists.
(05:15):
And there is this great story about a little girl
that was drawing a face and the teacher came and said,
see that's very nice. Who is that going to be?
Is that a picture of your mommy? No? No, so
is that a picture of your daddy? So no, who's
that a picture of?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
It?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Said? What's the picture of God? Said, well, sweeter, nobody
knows what God looks like. And she said, well they
will when I'm done. That's when kids know they're great artists.
So you don't have to really try to teach them
how to be honest. You have to protect them so
they can continue to be artists throughout their lives.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I am speaking with Lewis Henry Mitchell. He is the
creative director of character design for Sesame Workshop. Name some
of the characters you've created so people have a point
of reference, because I mean, you really do live the
life when it comes to your job.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yes, it's such a gift. I'm so grateful for it. Well,
I guess I designed quite a few. We have what's
called the RC Muppets. They're on the race, ethnicity and culture.
So there's let's see some of the new ones are like,
her name is Nave from from Ireland. Then we have
tj Ever been from the Philippines. They have different ones.
(06:26):
But the most famous muppet I designed, her name is Julia.
She's the autism muppet for Sesame Street. And the weird
thing about that is that I have been volunteering on
at the school on Staten Island as a friend of
mine Rachel London, Well, Rachel and McCarter. Now, she said, Louis,
she'd be great to go and help these kids. I said,
but I'm not trained for them, and she said, you
(06:46):
just have to love them. I said, well, I can
do that because I love kids. And when I fell
in love with all these kids and worked with two
kids on the spectrum and Sesame Street didn't know that
I was doing that, just like I didn't know Sesame
Street was working on and for autism. So it was
this beautiful, serendipitous thing that happened. When I come in,
I had to stop because I was using all my
vacation days to volunteer. So I was felt bad that
(07:10):
I had to stop. But I was in my office
and doctor Jeannette Bettencourt, the person in charge of the
Autorism initiative, came and said, Luis, you know, we have
a brand new character. We've been working on this autism
initiative for ten years and now we think we know
how to begin. After ten years, they learned how to
begin the process is we need a new character. And
that's when she came to me for Julia and the
(07:31):
rest is like history, I guess, they.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Say, working for Sesame Workshop. Although it was a dream
for you, the dream did not come easily. At one point,
at the last point, tell this story. You were ready
to just stop. Yes, you had applied, applied, applied. Take
it from there, Lewis.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yes, I had, you know, because a dream was to
actually work for Jim Henson Nonsessment. She well, I wanted
so badly to work then, and I kept sending my
portfolio and they said, oh, your portfolio is wonderful, but
we don't have anything right now. I said, okay, well
I'll just keep trying. So I would add another piece
here and there and it said submitted again, and they
(08:13):
were like, oh, wonderful, but we don't have anything for you.
And I had a teacher in college that told me, Louis,
you're aiming way too high. Sessama sheet, that's way too high.
You should make the kind of goals that you can
actually meet. But sessame chet, that's aiming way too high.
And at first I believed them. My mother told me
that he doesn't work there, so don't listen to him.
(08:33):
So I kept on trying and it took me eight months.
That last month I was submitting it. That last four weeks,
I was submitting it every week, hoping that something would happen,
because that teacher can't be right. I know I belong here.
But after that eighth week, that last week, I went
and say, no, what if I don't get some kind
(08:53):
of real work. Yeah, they're saying nice things about my work,
but if I don't get a real job, out of this.
Maybe the teacher was right, maybe need to quit. So
I said, I'm going to leave it one more time.
If I don't get something positive, that's it. So sure enough,
I left it there and I went back home and
there was a message waiting for me. Remember the old cassette. Yeah,
(09:15):
the light was beeping, I mean was blinking, and I said, wow,
I wonder if that's from Sesame Street. I said it's
probably not listened to it, it's sure enough. It was
a man named Jim Mayon who became like my mentor.
And he said, you know, I really like your work.
I had heard your portfolio was going on. I hadn't
seen me yet, but when I saw it, I thought
you could do some work for us. I'd like to
get you started on the projects. Can you call me
(09:36):
up and we can have a meeting. And I listened
to I wore that tape out. I just kept playing
it over and over again because it's like my dream
is coming true Sesame Street. So finally I went and
met when the men needed. Sure enough, it was a
wonderful opportunity. I became the number one licensing artist for
like three years, and then they asked me to come
on full time. So I believe in dreams coming true.
(09:58):
I don't dreams are not fantasies. Dream a seeds. You
just have to warn them until they get to the
place where they actually start to sprout, and then you
have to cultivate. You have to do the weeding that.
There are going to be people that say you can't
do this, you can't do that. Those are the weeds,
not the people. But the things they're saying are the weeds.
You have to plug out so you can continue to
go on the path that you know is yours. I
(10:18):
knew it was mine in my heart.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
What about people who aren't sure of what their dream is?
I mean, you and I both agree that everyone has
a purpose in life. Yes, some people are lucky enough
to be aware of that purpose. I think most are not.
How do you become aware of your purpose? What do
(10:45):
you have to open in your mind, in your body? What?
Speaker 3 (10:51):
So this is a very good question, Shelly, and I
didn't really have an answer until I wrote my book
Creative Evolution. That really helped me to really understand this. So,
if you don't have a purpose, or you don't know
what your purpose yet is, that means you yourself are
your purpose. You have to become the best person that
you can be. Go back and look at your health,
(11:13):
go back and look at whatever education you might have,
go back and just start making yourself your own assignment.
When you do that, you start getting healthier, you start
getting clearer, and then whatever that other purpose might be,
it's going to be revealed to you once you get
rid of all the things that are kind of distracting you.
So that's what it is. Your purpose is you until
(11:34):
you find what the other purpose really is.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
How do you encourage people who, like you, kept getting
rejected and like you said, you were about to give
up that dream.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Yes, Well I learned. It took a while to learn this,
but I learned that the rejection is actually a form
of direction. If somebody's saying no, that means you don't
belong in that direction. But you have to keep looking
for the yes, keep on striving for the things that
you're looking for. Like me, I kept on going for
sesame until I got the yes, even though I came
(12:08):
close to giving up. But I think that was just
testing my wherewithal to see if I really really wanted this,
because after eight months of trying, it was really difficult,
but sure enough I stayed with it, and that's what happens.
People just have to stay with it. Things are revealed
to those We don't decide our libr We shouldn't decide
we should discover it, because there's something already in there.
(12:32):
I really believe it's revealed in childhood. But a lot
of times people think children don't really know enough. Like
when I was a kid, I knew about Sesame Street.
Probably when you were a child, you knew you wanted
to talk to people and share. So the thing is
that if you stay on your path, eventually it's going
to be revealed to you what it's for. But a
lot of people have talked out of it way too early,
(12:52):
and that shouldn't be talked out of it at all,
because you need to at least try something. The only
way you really know something's not for you is by
doing it, reveal itself whether it's for you or not.
By the doing, you don't ever have to sit back
and try to figure things out. Who can figure out anything.
You have to follow your heart. That's how I got
dissed Mistry.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
He anuway, we only have about a minute and a
half left. What if we not touched on that you
want our audience to know either about you or Creative Evolution,
your book that's coming out this coming Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
One of the things I say in Creative Evolution is
that everyone's an artist. Everyone. I know people don't think
that way, but everyone is an artist because what you're
actually creating is your life. Everybody's creating your life, whether
they know it or not. The decisions you make, the
things you turn down, the things you accept, all those
are like you're almost like your paints, your different colors,
(13:47):
and you're actually making a masterpiece. You just have to
be deliberately moving in that direction. Do it on purpose,
you know, create your life as an artist working on
your artwork rather than just trying to see where it
goes or see what happens. Be engaged, be intentional about
the direction that you are goes. And also, I like
(14:09):
to think of myself as a child. I'm still that
six year old kid that so Jean Henson on at Sullivan.
That's why I'm still excited and thrilled about life. And
that's the direction I go in as a child. I
keep that red at the floor.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Front, you know, Lewis. I have a theory on life
and that is half of it is choice and half
of it is fate. So I think the fate part
of it is that things come into your path, and
the choice is do you do those things? Do you
(14:41):
enter into a relationship with this person? It's all laid
out for you. But then you have the choice, and
a lot of people are afraid of making that choice,
so they miss out on these opportunities. But that's just me.
That's how that's how I feel.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
I'll work for you.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Yes, yes it did. And let me tell you, I
was terrified when I was offered my first radio job.
I was absolutely terrified. But I did it. But I
did it, and I did it without taking what did
my father tell me to take? No, it wasn't xanax
at the time, I forget. But I thought to myself, well,
(15:22):
if I take that before I go on the air,
I'm going to have to take it every time I
go on the air. So I'm not going to do that.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Good for you.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
So the book is creative evolution. Thank you so much,
Lewis Henry Mitchell for being you and for being a
Q one O four point three listener.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
You've been listening to Sunstein sessions on iHeartRadio. A production
of New York's classic rock Q one O four point
three
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