Some people optimize their lives and make a success out of failure. Others let life control them. If you want to be among the first, you must understand that it’s perfectly okay to be vulnerable. In fact, you need to embrace your vulnerability and protect yourself from people who are likely to take advantage of it. By closing off access to your friends and peers, you’ll cut off potential opportunities for networking and success. You simply can’t be successful or happy at the extreme ends of vulnerability.