In this livestream, Brooke Cheney hosts the first episode of her "Suicide Prevention Saturday" series, presenting a concise, interactive workshop aimed at helping viewers clarify personal definitions of success and set meaningful goals, especially for those struggling with suicidal thoughts. She greets the live chat, explains that the session is a condensed version of a two‑hour training she recently completed, and outlines a plan to run short, pen‑and‑paper workshops each Saturday in January. The core of the session is a step‑by‑step "7 Levels Deep" exercise: participants write down what success means to them, then repeatedly ask "why" to uncover deeper motivations, ultimately linking personal aspirations to broader values such as reducing suffering, fostering confidence, and creating "Wonder Woman" moments. Brooke emphasizes the cognitive benefits of writing by hand, shares personal anecdotes about using a whiteboard for home‑improvement goals and a transformative firearms‑training experience that gave her a confidence boost, and ties these stories to the exercise’s purpose. She repeatedly encourages viewers to write, engage, and reflect. The workshop concludes with a brief reminder of crisis resources (211, online suicide‑prevention links) and an invitation to continue the series, share feedback, and return for the next session.
Chapters
Oh, duh. All right, so for those of you watching on YouTube, I am sorry it is so very grainy, but this is nothing I have control over. I think of it as being at Foxwoods at, you know, where 5 million people are probably on the same internet that I am currently on. All right, hi replay viewers, because you guys are the only ones who ever get to see the beginning. Tonight may be longer than 15 minutes because yesterday, no, second, no, the first, the first day of this year, January 1st, you know how that works. I did a 2-hour training and I'm going to try to condense that smaller so that you are not here for 2 hours because I'm not going to get that deep. But I do want to pass on a whole bunch of things. That I learned in that 2-hour training. So like I said, fear not, I'm going to do everything I can to keep it really small. And what I'm probably going to do is for the month of January, each Saturday is probably going to be like a mini workshop. And when I say that, as I've talked about before, um, hi Kevin, hi Keith, hi Peter, um, just saying hi as you all come on, um, are the ones that I can see because it gets me very confused because it says 6 people and I see 3 people's names. So if I'm not saying hi to you, it's not I'm ignoring you, I I just really can't see who you are. So anywho, all right. So I think for the month of January, I'm going to try to do mini workshops on each Saturday. So I'm going to take that 2-hour training I had on Wednesday and give you bits and pieces of it throughout this month on each Saturday. So I don't know how many of you are into doing New Year's resolutions. Uh, most people say doing New Year's resolutions is stupid. Because everybody fails at them. So the thing that was cool about the training that I just did was that it's really not about New Year's resolutions, but it is about setting goals, but being very clear on how to set those goals. So let's see who else have I said hi to. Paul and Larry and Robert. Um, hi, happy New Year. Oh yeah, I should probably say that. Happy New Year. Um, for those of you, if this is your first time, uh, my name is Brooke Cheney. I am not a counselor, I am not a therapist. I just talk about things that people don't wanna talk about. Suicide Prevention Saturday is being able to talk about things that are hard and challenging. It's really about mental health and being able to understand, reach out, and figure out where to go if you need help, because that is also helpful. And sorry, I have, oh, my husband, my wonderful husband, oh, who is watching right now, got me a new laptop and I'm trying to make my face, my YouTube work properly and it's doing weird things. So anyway, all right, 3 minutes in, ready? Everyone got their pen and paper? So first things first, the very first thing, ready? You're gonna write this down. Ask the question. Hi, my love. Ask the question, write it down. What does success mean to me? So, um, everybody says they want to be successful, and we'll talk for a moment in the context of suicide prevention. If you are currently suicidal or you know someone who is, the definition of success could be as simple as, I am still here today even though I didn't want to be. So, um, other people's idea of success— sorry, I'm looking at my notes over here— is, um, making money. And other people's idea of success— sorry, I'm trying to find the other notes— uh, are what, like, happiness, a successful relationship, money, a house, a car, um business, that sort of thing. So the very first thing you need to do before you set any goals is decide what does success mean to you. Hello, husband. Well, he is my husband. Hey, Zelda. Hey, Robert. Hey, Kat. Oh, and by the way, uh, any of you who are friends with Kat, you should go check out her newest bag, range bag. It's very cool. She's been crafty all week. Um, all right, so what does success mean to you? And write that down. And the reason I want you to take that pen and put it to a piece of paper is because when you write something down, there are neural pathways that are being made in your brain. When you just type on the keyboard, not so much. So, hey, um, when you physically write, this makes a huge difference. Actually, I'm going to tell you a quick story. Uh, when my husband and I got our first house we had a whiteboard in our kitchen and we wrote on that whiteboard all the things. Oh, that's good. Well, yeah, and Facebook, it looks good. YouTube, not so much. Um, we wrote down all the things we wanted for a new house within the next 5 to 10 years, but we physically wrote it and it was on our, our refrigerator in our kitchen. And we didn't really pay attention to it, but there was like home improvement stuff, there were of random things. By the end of the first year that we were in the house, I would say 75% of that list was gone. And we really didn't focus on it, it was just we physically wrote it down. So some of you know I've had lots of trainings with Tony Robbins, and one of the things he taught me— he taught us about the neuro connections that are being made when you physically write something down. So by writing it down, it does a couple different things. One, by posting it in the kitchen, you're subconsciously seeing it all the time. So you're currently writing what your definition of success actually is, and as you write that, you're creating the stronger neural pathways in your brain that make you understand what your success really means to you. I did not get a new phone, but I'm gonna because I have to, uh I dropped this one and broke it. Hey, Mo. Um, so after you've written it, you've created more of a physical combination in your brain, and then you get to see it. So I'm assuming that gave you plenty of time to write down your definition of success. So now here is what is called the 7 levels deep exercise. So at the top of your paper You have what is success to you? And by all means, pick something, pick one thing that you want to talk about success. Like some of my friends watching are competitive shooters. So their idea of success for the shooting season may be to get a bump to the next level. Or if you're a crazy person like my friend Kat here, uh, well, I think she's done getting all her degrees, but like one of her things was she just always seemed to be getting another degree. Um, so that might be her success. So pick an area of your life, not like success over in, in everything. So now you've got your success. What is your definition of success? And for me, I need to make money in my business. So success for me is to grow a great start shooting school and have more students. And now we're going to get into the 7 levels deep, uh, exercise. So Hey Bob, hey James. So now you've got success. Now here's the important part. This is where the rubber meets the road, as Tony would say, with the 7 levels deep exercise. First question: why do you want to be successful in life? Now remember, you have your definition of what success is. So my— I'm going to share with you guys so you get to see what I'm trying to get to here. Um, so why do you want to be successful in life? Well, as I told you, I talked about my business. I want my business to be better. So my answer is to help change the world to be more peaceful. So that's level 1. So now we ask level 2. And I keep showing you the pen because I really want you to be writing some of this stuff down. I'm going to put the pen down next. I'm going to poke myself in the eye. So number 2 is, why is it important to you? So why is it important to me to help change the world to be more peaceful? And the reason it's important to me, that's number 2, is there is so much pain and suffering in the world. I want to know people to know how valuable they are. Number 3, ready? You're gonna have to write again, why is that important to you? So the whole thing is, why is it important to me to change the fact that there is so much pain and suffering in the world? I want people to know why, how valuable they are. My answer is, it's important to me because I believe much pain is due to lack of confidence in one's worth. Once we realize we are worthy, we can help others see their worth as well. Hey, Aurora! Um, ready? So that was 3. Now we're on to 4. The 7 levels deep. Um, why is that important to you? So why is it important to me? Well, I believe once you have your Wonder Woman moment, you can do more to be happier.. And for those of you who haven't heard my story before, one of the things that makes me so passionate about teaching firearms is because that gave me my Wonder Woman moment. And I originally started learning about firearms so that I would be safer on firearms, and that's the only thing I really wanted. And then— thanks, George— and then there was this day where I could finally pack my own range bag and I knew what gun to put in. I knew what safety gear I needed. I knew which bullets had to go in. And that, for me, is my Wonder Woman moment. You know, stand there with the hands on hips, shoulders back. That's my Wonder Woman moment. And I remember that feeling. So when I say believe, I believe once you have your Wonder Woman moment, you can be happier because it gives you that happiness of Proudness, and we need to have more of that, I think. I think a lot of people need more of that. And guess what level number 5 is? Anyone want to guess? I'll give you a minute because I know there's lag here. Um, anyone? Anyone? Number 5 is, why is that important to you? So why is it important to me that people have their Wonder Woman moment? Because I believe happiness is contagious. We really can change the world one person at a time, starting with me. And ready, everyone ready for number 6? I bet you somebody can guess what number 6 is going to be. Remember the exercise called 7 levels deep? Why is that important to you? So the reason it's important to me is because I wanna live in a world where we can recover from the bad things that happen in life quicker. Ready? Everyone's ready for number 7? Oh, I can count really, 7. And I know that this is repetitive, but write it down anyway. And maybe think about the answers a little bit. So, all right, so number 7, why is that important to you? So why is it important to me that I want to live in a world where I can recover from bad things in life quicker? And why it's important to me is I've spent too much of my life suffering. I want to help others to be able to get out of pain and suffering quicker. And that is my seventh level of why I do the things that I do. And everyone's like, how does this have anything to do with a shooting school and making money? Well, for me, the whole reason I'm doing this is to help other people have their Wonder Woman moment. And all right, men, you can have your Superman moment, whatever, whoever your favorite superhero is or favorite person, you know, Einstein, I don't know, whoever your favorite person is that makes you feel confident. That is what I'm looking for. So That is a short version of what we talked about in our 2-hour training. And look, I'm going to keep it under 15 minutes. It's a small miracle, uh, for New Year's. So this is the idea, this is the flavor, at least for January, is that I'm going to have you guys come with pen and paper and we're going to go through some of these things that I have that are just different types of ways to help you think about you better and/or share with other people. So, um, I did get a text earlier today about these videos, and, uh, it's always heartwarming when I get to hear how I can positively impact you guys. And so share, by all means, keep sharing. That's definitely a good thing. And, um, week, at least in January, I think it's gonna be a focus, is give you a little tiny bite of some of the stuff that I use to better myself. Because all of us can be a little better tomorrow than we were today, but only if we focus on trying to get there. So if you have any questions, ideas for which kind of things you might want to work on, let me know, because I'm getting to the point where I actually have notes before I come on. And I am trying to prep these things. So let's see, in closing, ready? 211. If you have— if you're in crisis or you need to talk to someone, 211 is a great way to talk to someone. Really and truly, the phone you have in your hand you're watching this on, the computer you're in front of while you're watching this, all you have to type in is suicide prevention and you will find online help, texting help, people you can actually talk to, tons and tons of resources. Oh, and my friend Chris just logged into Facebook, and I'm sure he's got some awesome, what do you call it, links or something to suicide prevention stuff because he's in that, he works in that area. And I think that's kind of it. So Chris, go back and watch the replay. The rest of you who got in here late, throw— go ahead and check out the 7 levels deep exercise we just went over, and I will see you all next week, 9 o'clock. And find the end button.
