It wasn’t until Nik’s father suggested he get involved in High School Wrestling that he began to learn what drives him: Discipline, Regimen, and Humility.

For the first time in his life, wrestling gave Nik recognition. He liked it and knew the only way to maintain it was to go all-in.

From high school and into college at the University of Minnesota, wrestling taught Nik how to become the man who would soon enter the ring of Mixed Martial Arts and the UFC tour circuit.

And through it all, being scared was never an option. “I was fighting for survival.” He rarely felt pain in the ring. He was too present to even allow it to enter his mind. For nearly 20 years, Nik was not just an excellent fighter, but he was a survivor.

At birth, he was dealt a losing hand, having been raised as a young child in an abusive home. This manifested in Nik a mentality of having nothing to lose. This drove him to be hyperfocused on the tasks at hand to be the best he could be in the ring.

Inevitably, the time comes when a fighter has to retire from the game. When Nik discovered the markets, he knew what his next move would be. “If I can control myself, the Markets offer endless possibilities.”

To be successful in the market, as in fighting, “you have to deal with the person you are,” Nik says. One of his biggest hurdles in learning how to trade was his introversion, which he had to overcome to reach out to smart people in this new field so he could ask questions, form relationships, and grow. “If you’re willing to look like an idiot for five seconds, it’s often not a big deal.” And the rewards far outstrip the risk of putting yourself out there. All it took was honesty and humility, something Nik knew he was good at.

But he knew he once again had to put in the work. ”One in ten will not do what is required,” he said.

Learn how the art of fighting translates into the art of trading in this wonderfully insightful conversion with Nik “The Carney” Lentz.