Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Morgan & Robin Bailey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Morgan & Robin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

One thing that I think it takes to be successful is courage. You have to be courageous to test out new things. You have to be courageous to ask for help. You have to be courageous to speak to people. Once you are courageous, you will be successful.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

We started Sedona Picnics on a whim. One evening we were sitting at home, enjoying the charcuterie board that we had just made, and then my Mom said to me “why aren’t we doing this in Sedona?” And from there it blossomed into Sedona Picnics. We were doing it for a few months, and it was going amazing. In our third or fourth month, I had a stroke. I was only 22 years old at the time, and it was due to my AVM or Arteriovenous Malformation. Only 18 and 100,000 people have them, they are very rare. I was at Barrow Neurological Institute down in Phoenix, where they saved my life through a Craniotomy and Gamma Knife. After almost two months down in Phoenix, I got to come home. We picked up right where we left off. We were making to-go charcuterie boards, doing picnics at the Sedona Heritage Museum, and people’s AirBNBs and VRBOs. I needed assistance, as my right side was paralyzed, but I got the help that I needed. As I slowly got back to it, it felt good to be talking with people and making charcuterie boards.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The story of my stroke is one that illustrates my resilience. When I first got out of the hospital, I was in a wheelchair. I couldn’t remember my name, or where the bathroom was. My aphasia, which is the ability to understand or express speech, was super bad. I would say “I need to go to the bathroom” instead of “I’m hungry”. Slowly, and with the help from my Speech Therapist, I’m getting better! My ability to recover from difficulties is astonishing.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My business partner is my Mom. My Mom’s my #1. There’s no other way to put it. I spent my time in the hospital with my Mom by my side from 8 am to 8 pm. There was ONE day that she was going to Sedona, and I was a wreck. When I was little, she spoiled me rotten. I have a picture of myself when I was about six years old, I was in my playroom and you can’t find an empty space to put anything. She made my little kid’s life magical. And she makes my adult life magical. If I had to describe her in five words they would be: badass, gracious, confident, thoughtful, reliable. When I was in the hospital she would always be the person for me, and she continues to be the person for me. My mom was my #1 support.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sedonapicnics.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sedonapicnics/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SedonaPicnics