6 Takeaways from Hilda Baci’s cook-a-thon

On Tuesday, June 13, Guinness World Records (GWR) certified Nigerian chef, Hilda Bassey, aka Hilda Baci, as the new record holder for the longest cooking marathon for an individual. Her story is a case of guts, grit and grace. It is not easy to embark on a strenuous feat. However, she took the bold step and achieved her dream. There are some lessons to learn from her story. Let’s take a look at some of them.

1. Dare to dream

Some years ago, Baci had the dream to break the longest cook-a-ton record from India’s Lata Tondon. She made the necessary consultations and took that bold step. She didn’t just dream, she worked towards it, and had faith she would accomplish it. Hence, the attainment of her goal has placed her in a higher echelon in society.

2. Dreams come true

While it may be easy for everyone to dream, it is not all that easy for everyone to actualise their dreams. Dreams can take time, sap one’s energy, and even drain one financially and emotionally. Hilda stood for 100 hours days cooking. That is no mean feat. The most exciting part of her dream is that it became a reality. All her efforts were not in vain. This is definitely an encouragement for anyone with aspirations today. Keep pushing and working towards that dream. One day you will look back and realise that all your effort were not in vain.

3. Hardwork pays

Hilda Baci is a hard worker! She knew what her dreams entailed and she worked towards it. She put in all the logistics in place, brought the right team for the cook-a-ton, and also engaged members of the public for support. Inasmuch as we all have dreams to achieve, we must not only bank on our faith and words of encouragement. It is very paramount that we lay more emphasis on hardwork. American mixed martial artist, Michael Chandler once said, “Hardwork pays off if you are patient enough to see it through.”

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4. Follow your instinct

Baci had attempted to break Tondon’s 87 hours, 45 minutes record with 96 hours. However, she followed her instinct to proceed up to 100 hours. It wasn’t all easy for her to push through but she followed her instinct. Thankfully, it paid off for her as GWR took out seven hours for miscalculation on her rest periods. This made her 100 hours record to be reduced to 93 hours, 11 minutes. Regardless, she still has the record.

5. Never give up

During her cook-a-ton, Baci experienced some discomfort and tiredness. At some point, her assistant, Chef Sunday had to encourage her to keep going. The spirit of resilience also made her strive for more. However, she knew what she wanted and giving up was not in her plans. While perseverance is not always an easy road to ply, it is a worthy path if we desire excellence in all we do.

6. Nigerians are supportive people

Nigerians are not only hardworking, courageous and resilience, we are very supportive people. It is reflected in how we support ourselves, either nationally or internationally. Millions of Nigerians cheered Baci to break the GWR and bombarded the site till it crashed.

While acknowledging the effort of her people, GWR said, “Hilda’s cook-aton was in fact so popular that our website crashed for two days due to immense volume of traffic we received from her legion of fans.”

Indeed, Nigerians have proven that they can achieve anything they set their hearts to do if they are determined to do so. This feat is not just for Baci alone, but for many others whose dreams are still lingering for attainment. You can if you dare!