I was having a difficult time coming up with something to write about for this week’s episode of The Sessions. Just haven’t been feeling very creative this week for some reason.

And then I heard that Prince passed away.

I can remember being a little boy, maybe eight years old or so, walking around the house with my Fisher Price boombox, playing Purple Rain, 1999, and Little Red Corvette.

Not only did I admire Prince’s musical genius, but I loved the fact that he was … different.

I mean, the guy would go on stage wearing high heels, skin tight leather pants, see-through tops, and fuzzy pink scarves!

For every person who hated him for his eccentricities, there was someone who LOVED him and wanted to be just like him.

It was as if he gave his fans the inspiration and permission to be themselves. To wear what they wanted to wear. To say what they wanted to say. With no need for anyone else’s approval.

I think we all wish we could be that way. Fully expressed.

This is something that’s been coming up for me a lot recently. Having somewhat of an online following, I’ve developed a tendency to watch what I say on the podcast, what I write in these blog posts, and what I post on social media.

I find that sometimes I’m not being me, but rather the filtered, edited version of myself. The opposite of fully expressed.

I mean, no matter how vanilla a post may be, someone is going to get offended and lash out. Someone will disagree and make a stink of it … in public … on social media … for everyone to see.

The struggle is real. It can be a real drag sometimes. The goal is to one day get to the point where I simply don’t care. To be Prince-ish.

Deep down I know that once I stop caring what anyone thinks or how angry the emails get, the happier I’ll be and the more popular the podcast will become.

It’s interesting how the world works. The people who are unapologetically themselves are the ones who tend to make the greatest impact and attract the most diehard followers — Prince, Michael Jackson, Howard Stern, Kobe Bryant, Connor McGregor, on and on.

Consider Donald Trump. He says whatever he wants to say. Totally unscripted. People hate him. People love him. And he’s two steps from living in The White House. He is who he is. Apparently it’s working.

And that brings us to this week’s guest on The Sessions …

I’ve known Elliott Hulse for almost a decade now. That’s when we started up two of the first health-based channels on YouTube. What I remember most about Elliott in those early days was his no-hold-barred, completely unfiltered, say-whatever-he-wanted-to-say way of doing things.

Ten years later, the delivery hasn’t changed. But his following has grown to over 1 million subscribers, who have followed his example to not only be who they are, but to become the strongest versions of themselves.

Elliott’s new book, King: The IV Layer Approach to Becoming The Strongest Version of Yourself, is a must-read for both men and women. And in today’s interview, he and I cover a few of the book’s most fascinating topics.

Click the PLAY button above to tune in.

Enjoy today’s session. There’s a lot of wisdom in there. Be sure to stick around for my Takeaways at the conclusion of the episode.

And if you have a chance, please leave a rating and review on iTunes!

Make it a Purple day!