By Okechukwu Onwuka
In the natural world, physical attributes commonly recognized as basis for success include hard work, education, perseverance, determination, creativity, passion, talent, management style, planning, power of focus, vision, research, foresight, networking, family wealth, structure, infrastructure, etc.

In a different setting, for instance, at religious gatherings or meetings, it is more common to attribute success to connection to a supernatural world and the favours from above.

It would thus appear that in the secular world, formal recognition of the supernatural dimension as contributor or basis for design, invention or success in any form shall be viewed as weak or baseless, and thus devoid of intellectual robustness.

For this reason, I suspect, many well educated personalities tend towards atheism or a strong disregard for the existence of the Almighty God. They are overcome by the analytical process of intellectualism and as such refuse to acknowledge anything that does not have direct, measurable or scientific proof of existence or relevance.

On the other hand, in the religious world, it would appear that all that counts is the spiritual or supernatural realm. All failure must thus be a direct result of negative or unfavourable spiritual forces. Conversely, all success must be a result of positive spiritual forces.

As for me, I know this one thing; The Almighty God exists and has dominion over all things in the entire universe. The one single proof of the existence of God is that the entire universe is too structured, systematic and orderly to be the product of accidental occurrences or events.

This order exists in micro-organisms, insects, mankind, space, the sea, land and everywhere. Without the sustenance of this system and structure through unchanging natural laws, space travel, aircraft design and several scientific inventions would never have been possible.

All inventions are based on scientific application of the laws of nature. If scientific application is not random, then the universal system cannot be random. For me, no other proof is needed. But that is not the subject of today’s writing.

The issue is on the interplay of the supernatural and natural forces in the attainment of entrepreneurial success. Contrary to what is commonly communicated to the external world, many successful people have optimized the powerful combination of the spiritual and physical dimensions on their path to success.

When you read history and follow trends around the world, you’ll observe a common yet subdued trend. European war generals and leaders have often made sacrifices to their Gods before and after battles.

In North America, South America, Asia, Europe, the practice is the same. In many foreign cities and communities, you’ll readily see open display of shrines and deities in restaurants, electronic stores, offices and even public places. This at least confirms that Nigeria and Africa is not alone in religious practices.

If it is a worldwide common practice to recognize spiritual forces and pay homage to them for support in achieving success in the physical, why then has Africa, or better still, why has Nigeria not developed as a nation? Recent surveys show that a majority of Nigerians believe in the existence of God. What are we doing differently?

Why has our beliefs and knowledge not translated to measurable success when compared to other nations? My suspicion is that in Nigeria, we appear to have a misplaced judgment on the marriage of the supernatural and the natural.

In my perspective, no real success can come through physical and selfish efforts alone. Success is a balanced marriage between the physical and the spiritual. In the physical ream, hard work, learning, discipline, structure and planning are some essential requirements.

They cannot be bypassed. Work, through active learning and performance is the expectation for maturity in humanity. The developed world knows this.

In addition to spiritual practices, European, Asian and American leaders, generals and entrepreneurs would go through the excruciating rigours of training, strategy formulation, tests etc. Remember Joshua in the Bible. Moses had to raise his hands and connect to the Almighty while Joshua fought in the battle field. Moses was instructed to ensure that Joshua was informed that he did not win the battle alone.

That example clearly shows that the Almighty God expects us to fulfil our obligations by performing our side of the bargain: till the ground. Work!. The wise King Solomon says, it is for man to prepare the horse for war but victory is of the Lord.  A miracle starts when our physical abilities are grossly limited or when we have exhausted our efforts, skills and knowledge.

Miracles or supernatural intervention are not meant to replace the actions that we must take in the physical to effectively partner with the Almighty. Providing education, food, shelter and other needs for our babies and children represent a miracle for them (the children).

Providing food, shelter, clothing, and security for a 50 year old child is no longer a miracle. In other words, an able bodied, healthy 50 year old man who expects his biological father to provide for his daily needs (while he idles away) is not expecting a miracle; he is close to being an imbecile.

As our children grow, we expect them to develop progressive abilities, self performance and confidence. When a mother cooks the meal (the miracle), the 8 year old child must put the food into his mouth. Otherwise, he’ll likely get serious spanking from the mother.

My observation is that many of us have continued to fail in our pursuits because we are expecting miracles on two fronts: Miracles for the areas we have no control over, and miracles in the areas that has been handed over to us to control.

With widespread unwillingness to work, little or no commitment to duty, interest to consume only finished products from overseas, viewing opportunity only in terms of gain without effort, low interest in quality/active learning, we are seeking a double miracle.

Many of our spiritual expectations are based on very hollow foundations. Real misconceptions! As for me, I also know that hard work and physical efforts alone without the Almighty God is empty. There can never be true peace and success outside this knowledge.