Imperfect action & get out of your comfort ZONE
In this livestream replay, firearms instructor Brooke Cheney shares a candid, stream‑of‑consciousness monologue about stepping out of her comfort zone to co‑teach a free women’s firearms training event in Detroit with Rick Ector of Legally Armed. She recounts the lead‑up to the trip—last‑minute packing, procrastination, and the internal debate about leaving her family—while emphasizing the value of "imperfect action" and making time for priorities rather than waiting for perfect conditions. Cheney reflects on lessons from Tony Robbins about perfection being the lowest standard and constant, never‑ending improvement. She then pivots to a detailed critique of the proposed assault‑weapon ban (H.R. 1808), arguing that crime reductions during the ten‑year ban period were due to broader violence‑prevention programs, not the ban itself, and that the legislation fails to define "assault rifle". Throughout, she engages with live‑chat participants, promotes a free "Time to Thrive" webinar featuring Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, and other personal development figures, and urges viewers to contact their elected officials to oppose the ban. The broadcast blends personal storytelling, motivational advice, policy analysis, and community call‑to‑action.
Chapters
Dun dun dun! For those of you who've ever seen, um, oh my gosh, The Croods, there is this cartoon character on there called Belt, and many times throughout the entire movie he goes dun dun dun and expands his arms because one of the things he does is wrap around, uh, one of the characters' pants as a belt. So anyway, if you've not seen The Croods, you have no idea what I'm talking about. So that's okay because you're here watching the replay, and I thank you for that because, you know, the pop-up lives, I don't expect anyone to find me, but y'all do. You always amaze me. Uh, thank you for the comments after the fact because you're good like that. All right, it is 12:27 PM on July 29th, uh, 2022. I know you're not supposed to say stuff like this so your stuff is evergreen, but I think this is for me. Is a momentous occasion in that I'm getting out of my comfort zone. I am hopping on a plane. I'm not afraid of flying, that's not it. I'm headed to Detroit, not afraid of Detroit. I am just walking into a gun range tomorrow to meet I don't know how many women to help teach them, learn how to handle firearms safely. And why is that? But Brooke, you're an instructor, why would that be out of your comfort zone? Uh, because I'm going to be doing that from— well, we're starting at 7:30 in the morning, first students are at 9, and congratulations D23. Uh, T-Webs will be sad that he is not number 1, but you know, it's all right. And yes, I did know it was first thumbs up. So I walk into the gun range I don't even know what to expect. I don't know what the format is. We're just gonna go with the flow. And I'm watching my camera, I'm like, apparently one should not wear stripes on camera because they keep going in and out. So anyway, walking into a gun range, gonna meet I don't know how many more women tomorrow, Saturday, and then another whole another slew of them on Sunday. And I am totally excited, and this is the first big collaboration that I've gone to. So I'm totally looking forward to it. Now, the cool part about all of this, maybe if I just don't move, they won't go in and out. I don't know if you guys are seeing what I'm seeing, but the cool part about this is I am not new to teaching. I am not new to going to the range. I am 1000% new to having someone tell me what to do because here at A Great Start Shooting School, I'm the owner. I'm the head instructor. I'm the range safety officer. I'm the business manager, and, um, so, but I'm going with a great bunch of people. Rick Ector from Legally Armed in Detroit, uh, is going to be the ringmaster. In actuality, I think he's just the face. Um, I can't think of the girl's name who's like organizing us all to where we're going because we're actually invading not just one but two ranges to be able to try to get as many women through this program as possible. So good morning, Smeng, how are you? Um, so this is going to be fun, this can be exciting, this is going to be a really cool learning process. Uh, it'll be interesting to see how this all goes. This is the 11th time that Mr. Ector is pulling this off, and as far as I know, it gets bigger and bigger each year. I am honored that he invited me. Uh, I'm slightly embarrassed perhaps I said no to him In that, about 2, 3 weeks ago, I was on Flight Side Podcast with Rick Ector, and he said, come on, Brooke, let's go. And I'm like, no, I can't. I gotta stay home. I gotta work. I have to, I have to serve my students, because that was kind of my thing. I'm like, I have to stay focused. And then Mr. Anderson was kind enough to invite me on his Get Off the Lawn podcast. Good morning, sir. It's much earlier where you are than it's lunchtime here. And thanks, GT3. So Mr. Ector said, would you like to come? I'm like, no, I gotta work. Then Mr. Anderson invited me on to the Get Off My Lawn podcast, or whatever these things are called, YouTube shows. And we talked about the importance of training and how some people can't afford training. And so that started the guilt meter going, right? It's like, yes, training is actually often expensive thing, and it's hard to find inexpensive training. So free training seemed like the right thing to do, and I talked it over with my husband, and he could just tell— he's like, are you just waiting for me to say yes? Like, no, no, no, no, I'm just talking out loud that, you know, I get to go meet a whole bunch of instructors from all over the country who are coming and donating their time. And he— and then I was talking to my little— my son, because like in our family we try to make family decisions because because I do travel a lot for DC Project, for competition, that sort of thing. So I'm talking to my son and my son's like, Mom, are you just waiting for me to tell you to go? I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm just talking out loud. So Get Off My Lawn was the turning point where even on that podcast there were 6 of us. And at the end of the show, Chris, I think from Top Shot, asked who was going to Detroit because he was going to Detroit. And everyone but Mr. Anderson and I raised their hands. And so I'm like, oh, I feel like I should go. And that's when all the other conversations took— started taking place. So plane takes off shortly. I actually haven't even finished packing yet. I really need to do that. So this is a little bit of procrastination because I'm good at that. I love procrastination. All right, so that's me getting out of my comfort zone. I share this with you in hopes that perhaps you will figure out something to get out of your comfort zone, whatever it is. And yes, it was totally peer pressure, but also realizing that if I'm going to be away from my family, this is a very good reason to, uh, be away from my family. And I am looking forward to all the women I'm about to meet tomorrow and on Sunday, and I have presents for them. Just little things. Um, I'm bringing my Walk the Talk America wristbands. This is not one of them, this is my American Suicide Prevention one, but I'm bringing those. And then one lady each day is gonna get one of my hats, so I'm gonna do a giveaway that way as well. Um, yeah, so Rick, as far as I know, is one of the most popular people in the gun world because a couple months ago, uh, at NRA, uh, There was— everyone had pictures with Rick. So now I will get to have my picture with Rick so that I can also be famous like everyone else. So, all right, so let's get out of my comfort zone. Let's talk about imperfect action. Me hopping on, not fixing my lighting, not doing my face, not doing my hair. As simple as that sounds, it's one of the things that's super important that all of us need to do in our lives. So many times we miss out on opportunities because we're waiting for the perfect time. One of the conversations, or a couple of the conversations I had with my students yesterday, we were talking about finding time. And I said, nope, it's not about finding time. It's about making the time for the things that are important. Because I don't know about you guys, but there are things on the list that just stay on the list and never get done. I know not everyone's a list maker, but that's kind of the idea, right? So imperfect action, just do stuff. I'm hopping on here to talk to you guys real quick. While procrastinating, but that's okay. So anything you can do to take a little bit of imperfect action, that is the idea. You, Schmeggy, you're acting as if A, I have transportation, B, I will have any downtime, because as far as I can tell, we're starting at 6:30 in the morning and not ending till 6:30 at night or so, give or take, um, on both days. And so perfection is the lowest standard. This is something I learned from, uh, Mr. Tony Robbins, right? Every time we try to be perfect— wait, I can get— see, when I try to get my fingers right above perfect, see how hard that was? Um, perfection is the lowest standard because nothing is ever perfect. You can have that perfect shot while you're on the range, and then you can pursue that continually forever. Because you can always do something a little bit better. So perfection is the lowest standard because it's not attainable wherever you are. The other Tony Robbins thing is KNAI, constant and never-ending improvement. So whatever I did best today, I can possibly do a little bit better tomorrow. And so yes, I agree with G-Webs. I hope that they have an awesome— they realize that we are coming from all over the country and supporting Rick for this event. And it's one of those cools where I think that is going— my hope is to pay enough attention to how this is run to try to bring it back here to Connecticut and like check in with our CCDL group and other 2A groups within Connecticut and see if we can pull something off like this in Connecticut, just locally, because it's just, it's really hard to get people motivated to get to a place, all that fun stuff. Okay, ready? Uh, number 3: the rifle ban. All right, um, so unfortunately the rifle ban is dead for the moment, um, but it's only a week or two before they come back with it. So I will say that having been in DC sat in the 2, 2.5 hours of conversation that our legislators were having regarding the rifle ban. I think the worst part that is painfully evident as someone who is educated in violence prevention is that they are telling the truth out of context. So the number one thing that I heard over and over again, and I heard before I went to DC, and I've heard since I've been at DC, is that the politicians and everyone who are talking about this say that during the 10-year mag ban— or sorry, the rifle ban— crime went down. And here's the problem, is that it is true, but it's a lie. In that during those 10 years, um, the FBI, the DOJ, um, Department of Ed, who else, Secret Service rolled out a boatload of violence prevention programs. They started a gang violence prevention program, they started doing more safety stuff in schools because of the school shootings, they did a ton of preventative stuff. So gang violence, school violence, and all sorts of things. So that 10 years, there was a ton of preventative programs that were started up and implemented. So during that 10 years, crime did go down. However, it had nothing, zero zilch nada to do with the rifle ban. So, um, so yeah, so barbecue crime has already been falling for years before that. So not really. I mean, yes and no. So I'm a geek when it comes to all of these, uh, numbers, and I go directly to the FBI crime database. And that was the other thing that was killing me. Um, oh yeah, that's true. Sorry, I mean, but we will see what happens. Um, as far— everything I've heard right now though is right now 1808 is dead, uh, because they lost votes in Democrats and they've lost the votes of the Republicans. So they do not have enough votes to get it by even if they bring it for a vote. However, not really sure on that because as much as I follow it, I don't follow it that closely. It is a horrendous, deceptive piece of garbage, and it proves that there is no such thing as an assault rifle. And why do I say that? Well, because I printed out the entire stinking thing, and it's about this thick, this thick, right? And all it is is a list of specific maker, specific model, specific maker, specific model of rifle. So how does this prove that they— that an assault rifle doesn't exist? Is because if I say I want to ban all pickup trucks off the road, that's all I have to say. Assault rifle, and then they're picking stuff out by name, brand, and serial number. That's not a thing. That's not a category of firearm. So in 1808, if you feel like looking it up, which I did not put the link down here or up there depending on if you're on Facebook or YouTube, is that there is no such thing as an assault rifle. There are various rifles that they talk about in their testimony using very emotional words while creating a very emotional picture about what a rifle can do, but there's no such thing as an assault rifle. And the legislation they want to put through proves that because they can't define it. They have to say, well, we don't like this rifle and we don't like that rifle and we don't like this rifle, and so on and so forth. So for those of you who are not gun people and you would like to understand this more, I am happy to answer questions, not get into argument over stuff, but if you have honest-to-goodness questions I will, um, will answer them. Hello, Tara. Um, working on lights. I'm like, all right, for your truck? For where? I don't even know. Um, but anyway, all right, yeah, so we have all sorts of things. And here's the other challenge, right, is you and I trust each other, so we believe this. And yes, and that is the other thing, is that after the ban, crime still continued to go down. And this was another one of those lies, or sorry, misinformation pieces that they may have been given, saying that after the ban sunsetted, that crime went up. And that is not true, especially if we're talking about long gun crime. And this is the thing that's driving me nuts about this conversation, is that crime went down. This is true, had nothing to do with the rifle ban, right? So they're telling the truth. Now, now they're saying also that when that sunsetted, that crime went up. It's like, not with long guns, it didn't, which is what the rifle ban was banning. So again, maybe some of what they're saying is true, but it's really not true in context as far as what actually made the difference in crime, and it was prevention, prevention, prevention. And the other part that kills me about all this— hello, Vanessa Kitty! Hey, by the way, go back and watch the replay at the beginning because we're going to work on bringing this Rick Ector Detroit thing here to Connecticut one way or another. So yeah, all right, see, uh But like, lights are important. That's why you don't want to get pulled over, because that's a huge pain in the neck. All right, so that's my annoyance with the whole rifle ban conversation thing, is that the misinformation that is out there is they're taking two truths, but by putting them together, they're creating a lie. And it was painfully— hello, Miss Heidi, good morning or good afternoon. You're at least in my time zone. So, um, I mean, Vanessa is too, but it's like taking two truths, putting them together, and making them into a lie, proving there is no such thing as an assault rifle in their own document because they can't just define it and say this is an assault rifle, and they're making stuff up as they go. So yes, Vanessa, thank you. I— oh, uh, one of my other ones where you put this in when we were talking, that ended up being in my thumbnail, so I thought that was really kind of cute. So anyway, all right, so that was number 3. See, I'm trying to— because I still have to finish packing, so this is only a little tiny short thing. At 20 minutes I am already— I don't know, apparently I'm getting more long-winded doing these things. So finally, I would like to invite you all to join me at Time to Thrive. And I'm going to do the share screen thing and hope it works this time versus going totally bonkers the way it did last time. Tony Robbins, he's one of my favorite dudes ever. I've been following Tony Robbins since, oh, 1990-ish, 1980, when I watched late night and he was on infomercials. And then I got to go work with Tony Robbins and go to his events and then work at his events. And it's fun stuff. Dean Graziosi, this guy next to him with the microphone in his head. Also love this dude, he is awesome, hysterical, and he's just got such a huge heart, Jenna Kutcher. Oh, ClickFunnels, sorry, Russell. Like, the rest of them I don't know as well. Brandon Bouchard. So anyway, so here's my other suggestion for getting out of your comfort zone. This is a free webinar, it's an hour or two, because anything with Tony is what we call Tony time. So they say put 2 hours on your calendar for this. I'm flying back from Detroit on what day? Uh, Monday, and this starts on Tuesday, and I'm gonna do what I can to be here. I did already— you guys are all seeing my emails and stuff. I forgot about that part. Um, so anyway, check it out, try it out. Oh, I'm gonna grab the thing and cut and paste it into comments over there so y'all get to see it. So, um, it's also in the description as well. So here's what it is: 2 hours, various people talking to you about various things. Whether you think you have a story to tell, if you're looking for another form of income, if you are an entrepreneur, if you would just like some mental health growth, I suggest trying this because even though it's focused on the entrepreneur who who wants to create a product and sell it. It's not just about that. It's about your mindset. It's about believing that you can do more than you are currently doing. It is believing that there are people that you are meant to serve, right? So, and the reason I show you that sticky is because that's the kind of sticky that comes out of sitting through some of these seminars. So, um, You are welcome. I mean, sorry, I'm responding to the other one. Yes, I'm hoping to have a great time. I'm pretty confident that I will be there. And, um, and serving others is exactly why we do what we do, uh, because that is the spice of life, is I need help doing stuff and there are people in the world that help me get stuff done. And so then I can help others do stuff that maybe they need help with. And this is why we're social creatures. That's why the last 2 years sucked so bad that we were put in our little cells and not allowed to see each other. By the way, I still had my 20th wedding anniversary party in 2020, 2021, and my 50th birthday in 2020 or 19— yeah, whatever. But anyway, so don't make other things— don't let other things stop you from doing stuff. So, um, G23, that's okay. So here's what I suggest. Even if you cannot go to these— it's 11 o'clock Pacific Standard Time— um, join anyway, because here's what you get if you just go and you sign up for the mailing list and all of that. You'll get emails from them that have special links that have little itty-bitty bites. Dean Graziosi is kind of the ringleader of this whole thing, and every day he's going to send out a little tiny little snippet. So at the very least, sign up so you can get exposed to these people, because I believe that these are some of the people that I've been listening to all of my life that makes me who I am and helps me change my mindset. So even if you can't make the 2 hours each day, sign up anyway, because the little pieces and parts that you get may be rah-rah or, hey, this is great, or, hey, enter this drawing, or whatever, but they have a servant's heart and they are here to help. Um, sorry, I'm like trying not to read fast. Um, so even if you can't get the 2 hours a day And I totally get that 'cause I'm, I'm only gonna be able to do it on Tuesday, Wednesday, and then my teaching schedule Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Don't know what that's gonna be like. So maybe I can, maybe I can't. But the other stuff you get in the chats on Telegram and on Facebook or Twitter, I think they've got some stuff with the Facebook group is definitely beneficial. All right. So Vanessa Kitty, you'll have to send me a picture 'cause I have no idea what a leather tripod stool would look like. Is— I mean, that'd be some stiff leather if it's the whole thing, or if it's just a top with leather, I don't know. Um, and teaching because of what each human should strive for. Well, maybe, maybe not. Everyone has their wheelhouse, right? I love sharing. I have been a Sunday school teacher since I was 14. Um, 12, 13, 14, whenever they let the, the adult-ish kids teach take it over. Um, so I started teaching Sunday school as a kid, coaching soccer for my sisters when she was little, and then for our junior high school. So I started coaching peewees. So I like helping others, I like teaching, but it's certainly not everybody's wheelhouse for sure. Um, wait, what is the 13th in October? I'm very confused. Anyway, I'm gonna go. I have to finish packing, and then I have to leave for the airport. Um, ah, okay, that makes way more sense. Thank you. Sorry for being so blonde sometimes, but I'm like, hmm, that's gonna be very stiff leather. Um, sounds very cool. All right, hon. Um, thank you all for popping in. For those of you watching the replay, my hope is to make little tiny videos for the rest of the day and then tomorrow and then Sunday. And who knows, maybe I'll actually take a day on Monday when I get home and put together my 40-yard challenge that I did last week, um, the trip, and goodness knows what else. I will totally be on tomorrow night, Saturday, for Sue's Art Friends Saturday at 9 PM Eastern. Oh my gosh, is Detroit a different time zone? I don't even know because I totally want to be the one who announces that 988 is officially up and running. So that is going to be what, what we talk about on Saturday, which is only tomorrow, but it's going to be a long time between now and then. So, ah, see, I should have, I should have, we should have connected. I could have come early and said hi live and in person. Um, so yes, it is going to be Bradley. And if you live literally next to it, maybe I can still stop in depending on if I get my darn things actually done. Oh yes. Well, see, here's the thing, I'm going to be at a gun range. So where's the safest place in the world to be? At a gun range. So it'll be good. Thank you, Miss Heidi. Oh good. Thank you, Smeggy, for keeping me aware of where I'm traveling to and what time zone I'm in. Alright, thanks to you all. I am looking forward to giving you guys more updates, and I will see you tomorrow night at the very least, Use Your Vengeance Saturday. Maybe I'll get to see you in the Time to Thrive, but go ahead and join the groups. And we gotta still start talking to more people about making sure that this rifle ban does not go. For those of you who have already called your senators and your Representatives, thank you. Keep doing it. For those of you who have not, it really only takes 5 minutes, and I know most of us hate picking up the phone and making that phone call, but it does make a difference, and we need to keep doing that. And if you're feeling so enthralled, please try to help people understand there is no such thing as an assault rifle. Help them understand that they are not saving lives. Yes, we can prevent quite violence, we can get crime to go down, but an assault weapons ban does nothing to do that. So, all right, you are welcome. I'm really gonna go now. I'm just gonna hit the— I'm just gonna hit the end broadcast as I wave and say goodbye.
