Among the entrenched ideas inside us, which represent a knot within the "group of knots" causing our delay and inability to catch up with the march of progress, and as we build our new Egyptian republic, is the idea that the person on whom the spotlight is focused is the best.

This happens sometimes but not always, and it also happens during a certain period for the person in the spotlight and not always except for a very small percentage. This top person in every craft and profession is the "artisan," while the very small continuous percentage are the "professionals." Before we distinguish between the "maker" and the "professional," we must clarify the idea. Since ideas always need examples to illustrate and clarify, let's say you've come across an "artisan" (carpenter, mechanic, electrician, etc.) with tools or cars piled up in front of his workshop.

I'll tell you what happens, and I believe you've encountered it and know it well. If you go, for example, to this famous "mechanic," you'll find many cars in front of his workshop, and as soon as you arrive, fed up, he'll greet you with a wide smile, making the matter easier for you. He will order one of his workers to start working on your car immediately. As soon as a part of the car is disassembled, ensuring you can't leave with it, he calls the worker to start on another car, leaving you waiting for hours. In this way, he ensures the highest number of customers, and cars pile up in front of him.

One day, I discussed with a carpenter who was finishing some work for me that would only take a few hours. He would leave it and work on something else, then leave the second job and work on the third. The important thing was that he "opened work" as he said in all these jobs. I argued with him, asking why he didn't finish one job and then the next, and so on. He would smile, drawing on his face what he thought were marks of genius, saying, "Tying the customer... Our customers like those who tire them and make them feel that the job is very big. If I finished it in a few hours, they would consider it easy and haggle over the wage." This is a viewpoint or a philosophy particular to the "artisan" and not the "professional." It's a viewpoint created by the strange nature of thought; it's better to complete the work as quickly as possible. Completing it quickly is not against quality or effort; rather, the "professional" and "respectable" person finishes your job quickly to start another and so on.

This issue is not limited to manual professions but is found in various fields. Due to my work, I've encountered many "artisans" in the artistic and literary fields. This "artisan" actor starts shooting or recording a drama, and after a few days, he starts a new job, then a third and fourth one. He ensures that these works cannot be completed without him. As a result, he is late for a shooting appointment here and "hits" a studio reservation there, and he procrastinates with a third team until he arrives exhausted and worn out, so they accept any performance from him. There is no difference between him and the carpenter or mechanic who "opened work" in more than one place. The "professional," on the other hand, understands the value of time and words, so he doesn't accept a job until he finishes what he's already working on, or at least accepts another job and makes the first team aware of the second team and vice versa to arrange things. This "professional" artist does not give a new appointment at all if he is already committed to another one. You will find him arriving before his scheduled time, adhering to the smallest details of the work. If someone wants him for a new job and insists on having him, they should wait until he finishes what he has already started or arrange things in a way that agrees with him and does not cause either party to lose. This logic should also be applied in various professions.

Do not be fooled by those who are in the spotlight; do not stand waiting for them. Discover a new professional yourself, for there are many professionals if you search and find. And know, my dear, that this congestion opens the door for fraud. Yes, have you not found that the discounted item on offer is the worst of the goods, and its owner wants to get rid of it quickly? Have you not noticed that the work of the busy "craftsman" is not well-executed because their thoughts are scattered?

I want to reach a complete conviction with you that there are "professionals" even if they are far from the spotlight, and not to be fooled by the crowded doors. Do not be swayed by the herd, for many sheep have fallen from the top of the mountain because they were walking within a herd and none of them bothered to lift their head and search to explore the path.

"Professionals" are a rare commodity, so as soon as one appears, they are snatched up by foreign hands who recognize their value, provide them with a suitable atmosphere, and compensate them with the money that suits them as well. Meanwhile, we are still crowded here in front of the "craftsmen," giving our blood at their doorsteps in exchange for the worst quality of work.