Just because it worked for you, doesn't mean there aren't a thousand people who tried and failed at exactly the same thing.
Your chances are definitely higher than zero if you try, but unfortunately it's no guarantee that you'll succeed.
There is literally nothing better to do with your life than try. So just try.
I hope I don't have to go through all the reasons this is fundamentally disconnected from the problem described in the article now.
"there is literally nothing better to do with your life than try. so just try."
As advice it also ignores the structural issues that make trying easier and harder for various people. One way of encouraging people to try is to break down the real barriers that exists and make it harder for them than others.
People ARE trying. Its not really a good strategy as it gets no where. Its only a better strategy than not trying, as not trying gets you to being a depressing statistic, like joblessness in erstwhile manufacturing hubs.
Knowing that you might fail and flame out is the definiton of risk; you do it because the upside is worth it
Otherwise they'd be out there, looking for work. Instead of dismissing the possibility that they act in their rational self interest, perhaps you can study how the actual risk/reward ratio evolved for these people over the course of the last few decades.
But that would be quite a bit harder than giving self-help advice on the internets.
"There is no point in trying, because you will fail" kind of attitude prevents you from trying at the first place.
There is one reason to be assured of failure, which is by doing nothing at all.