Success is easy to deal with. Let's be thankful for failure.

But I've also made my own luck by learning how to pull myself back up when I get knocked down.

I see opportunities everywhere because, unlike many of my often-myopic cohort, I look everywhere. I avoid self-imposed obstacles. If someone doesn't take a pitch, I pitch elsewhere. I get out of my comfort zone. If I want to pick up a new skill, I study those who have been doing it for years.

I get asked by young people who want to go into journalism whether it's a fool's errand and a recipe for heartbreak.

No, I tell them. Follow your passion, especially when you're young. If you want to tell stories, there are plenty of stories yet to tell.

But, I also warn them, these days you have to diversify your skill sets. It's not enough to be a good writer. You have to be good at broadcasting on radio, appearing on television, standing at a podium, etc.

When I wrote my first newspaper op-ed in 1989, the media was segmented into tribes. There were the newspaper folks, the radio crew, the TV people and the live performers. Everyone was communicating with the public, yet no one knew how to do anyone else's job but their own It was different for me. I was an author before I was giving speeches, and giving speeches before I was on radio, and on radio before I went on television, and on television before I got a column.

And I've kept doing all those things for three decades. You know that guy in the circus who runs back and forth, frantically spinning plates at the end of sticks? That's me. It'll drive you mad, but it beats working for a living.

Sure, I've been knocked down -- and then stepped on when I was down.

And I'm blessed to live in a country where you're allowed more than one at-bat, and striking out now and then doesn't put you out of the game.

No matter what your profession, the struggle is real. But the wisdom it provides is worth passing on to our kids. Instead of working ourselves into the ground trying to give them the tools to succeed, let's give them something really priceless: the skills to survive, and even thrive, when they fail.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.