Without natural resources how can a nation be successful

Answer: Without natural resources, a nation can still exchange goods or services for whatever they require through labor and intelligence.

Explanation:

Not every nation can supply it's population with everything grown "in-house" Take mangos at the grocery store, for example, we import these exotic fruits for currency or other fruit. In a larger scale, one country may not be near a large body of potable water but have supple oil while another country may have all the water it needs but is in need of oil so they would be in optimal conditions to trade.