Friends don't support you

A friend of mine sells party drinking cards online. The kind you pull out when friends come over. He makes fun, entertaining videos to promote them because that's what his audience expects.

I watched his first two videos fully. The rest, I started skipping. Not because they were bad. Something about it just irritated me and I couldn't explain why. It wasn't until I started making my own videos that it clicked. He had visibility and I didn't. He was doing something I secretly dreamed about but wasn't doing myself.

I wasn't jealous of him specifically. It was more like looking at a mirror showing me the version of myself that kept going. The version that didn't stop. He reminded me of that every time he posted.

So I didn't support him. Didn't like his posts, didn't share his stuff, didn't even watch. And I'm sure I wasn't the only one in his circle doing the same.

I built Edicek. I started making TikToks to get visibility for it. I put myself out there now. And you know how many people close to me actually support what I do? My wife. That's it. Nobody from my circle has ever bought the product. Most haven't even installed the app, registered, or given any feedback. No pride shown.

A few weeks ago I was working out at my local gym and some random guy walked up to me. He knew my trainer, and he just said: "Hey, I know you. You make TikTok videos, right?"

A stranger. Not a friend. Not family. A guy I've never met recognized me before most people in my life even acknowledged what I do.

And I'm not mad about it. Because I did the exact same thing to my friend with the drinking cards.

I think we don't ignore people we care about because we don't care. We ignore them because they remind us of what we're not doing. They took the step we keep postponing. And instead of cheering, something inside us just... scrolls past.

Once I started creating content myself, that feeling disappeared. I'm not critical anymore when I see someone's video with a mistake in it. I know what's behind it. I know it's not easy. I know that if every video had to be perfect, none would ever get published.

If you have a friend building something, go like their post. They notice. Trust me.