The 12 Days of Financial Success: An Entrepreneur’s Playbook for 2026

Be one of a kind with Mike's Plan.

On the 12 Days of Christmas, my true love gave to me— oh my gosh, that's the last thing you wanted to hear was me singing, and especially singing that song. Anyway, Merry Christmas. This is the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily with your host, Mike Milligan. I'm pumped up. Probably had a little bit too much milk and cookies already this morning, but I am fired up because Today, there is no recording from the radio show with me and Gary Nolan. You got me because— and I'm gonna rehash something that I've been doing over the past 12 days on LinkedIn. See, on my profile on LinkedIn, I've been taking lessons learned from the song The 12 Days of Christmas, and I put together an entrepreneurial, um, playbook on how you can run into 2026.

Mm-hmm.

With, uh, with how these 12 gifts, given a total of 364 different gifts— count them up on that song, because every time a new day comes, you get more gifts. So 364 total gifts, uh, make a full year of entrepreneur growth. So if you, uh— so for most people, they think Christmas is about the music, the cookies, the family gatherings. And yeah, those are amazing. But for us entrepreneurs, especially those in the financial professional industry and those of us who are retirees or pre-retirees, we know that we have to get serious about living a one-of-a-kind life. And Christmas gives clues for how you can do that in the next year. So today on Christmas Day, I want to bring it all together. I wanna bring those posts to you in spoken words and go just a little bit deeper in these next 8 or 9 minutes. So these principles, the principles that will change how you think about money, about planning in your future, are coming up right now. Let's dive into this song. So when I started the series, I asked a primary question: what does a one-of-a-kind life really mean. See, on day 1 of the song, we talk about or we sing out loud, on the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree. That is singular, unique, and foundational. That's you. That's your life. Not a copy of someone else's plan, not a template from Wall Street, not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach. Day 1 shows us that the foundation is you. On day 2, we move to 2 turtledoves. That's a partnership, folks. See, this is crucial, especially for anyone who's an entrepreneur trying to do this on their own. You can't build a one-of-a-kind life alone. You need a partner. For me, that's my wife. She's the one who helps push me, who asks me how my day, who longs for more time with me. And gives me purpose to be prompt at work. For others, maybe that partner is a tax planner, a mentor, a coach, or a trainer. But it's got to be somebody who believes in your vision and holds you accountable to where you're going. That's why I have the ONEOK Collective, a group of people who are coming together to mastermind around how we can move forward to help more people in the future. On day three of the song, we move to three French hens. We're talking about multiplying now. It's it's the multiplying of your efforts, about creating systems, about leverage, about understanding that to build lasting wealth, you have to multiply your impact, your income, and your investments. Here's what I want you to understand: day one to day three aren't just the beginning of the song; they're the foundation. Of what it means to be an entrepreneur, a financial professional, somebody moving into retirement. See, you cannot leap forward, right, or move forward without knowing who you are, what your vision is, who your partners are, and how you're going to multiply your effort. Most people skip these. They just jump straight to, how do I make more money? Should I invest in this? How do I get more leads? How do I take more calls? That's not what a foundation is. A foundation is an order of operations that builds you up for growth. It's foundation first. The song starts building momentum next. Day 4, 5, and 6, these— this is where things really get exciting. This is where we shift from knowing yourself to knowing your goals and And this is where the most memorable part of the song really is. On day 4, it's 4 Calling Birds. We're talking about your calling, your purpose, your gifts, your talents, the thing you were put on this earth to do. And here's the thing, as a financial planner, I see so many people making money doing something they don't believe in. I see it over and over again. They're trading their time for dollars without any alignment to their actual values. That's broken. It's a broken life. A one-of-a-kind financial plan, a one-of-a-kind life starts with alignment. It starts with, starts with what am I called to do? And then we build the money plan or the entrepreneurial business around that. This is where momentum goes. Because this is the most memorable part of the whole song, right? Day 5, 5 golden rings. And this was profound, not only in the song, but when you think about what it means when you're building something for yourself, just like this song builds on itself. We're talking about with these 5 golden rings, protection, security, the 5 rings of financial security, your income protection, your asset protection, your family protection, your legacy protection. And your peace of mind. So you see a lot of financial advisors, business builders, coaches, mentors, trainers, they skip this conversation. They want to talk about the return on investments. They want to talk about the exciting stuff. But here's the reality. If you're not protected, all the growth in the world means nothing. One health crisis, one lawsuit, one unexpected event, and it's all gone. Then we move on to day 6. 6 geese a-laying, because now we're talking about productivity, passive income, creating systems where your money works while you sleep. We talk about Mother Earth, about sustainability, about building something that lasts. And here's what connects day 4, day 5, and day 6. They're about sustainable Momentum. How do you continue to have your business moving so that you can move along and continue building an empire? You're not just making money, you're protecting it. You're aligning it with values. You're creating systems that generate income passively so you have freedom. Days 7 through 9 of this song is about taking control. This is where things get serious. This is about where you start seeing yourself As a chief executive officer of your financial life. Day 7, 7 Swans a-Swimming. That we— when we talk about a swan, we talk about grace and flow and how they move. And as for entrepreneurs, this is critical. A swan doesn't start off beautiful and graceful. It starts off gray and it grows into its beauty, just like you have done in days 1 through 6 on these, on this Story of building a business. This swan, you know what stops most entrepreneurs from building wealth? They get stuck in the swimming pool of their business. They are the business. The business, it cannot, cannot work or not function if they are not doing the work. See, a one-of-a-kind life requires you to create grace. It is a life designed where you're not drowning in work. Where things flow, where you have time for family, for travel, and for the things that actually matter. Then came day 8, 8 maids a-milking. And this is about delegation. This is understanding that you cannot scale yourself. You need a team. You need people. You need systems. 8 maids means you have a team working for you. I have a team of 20+ professionals across the country and the world. Why? Because I learned early on that I'm not a system. I am a person with limited hours. To impact more people, to build wealth, to help more families, I need to delegate. And gosh, I got stuck on day 8 in my journey of growth for the longest time. Then when I learned it, I was able to move forward to day 9. 9 ladies dancing. This brought it all together for me. Movement and rhythm and celebration. See, you cannot work 365 days a year. I know, I tried. You cannot be on all the time. A true one-of-a-kind financial plan, a true one-of-a-kind life has rhythm. Work hard, rest well. Build, then celebrate. Plan, then execute. Execute, then reflect. Most people miss this. They're grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding. No rhythm, no celebration, no joy. Here's the truth about days 7, 8, and 9. They're about building an empire, not a job. Nobody wants to own a job. They don't want to have a side hustle. They want to build an empire, generational wealth, something that goes far beyond them. Something that has an impact in their community and onto the people they serve. Well, then we move on to the final push because the final 3 days is where we go deep because these 3 are absolutely critical for entrepreneurs. So let's start with day 10. 10 lords a-leaping. Here's what most people don't know about this verse. In the original gift-giving tradition, lords represented nobility, authority, and power. They were leaders, decision makers, people who commanded respect and moved with purpose. When you have 10 lords a-leaping, you're not just moving forward slowly, you are leaping. You're taking bold, decisive action. And here's how this applies to entrepreneurs and to what I've built at One Oak Financial and the One Oak Life and Collective I live. As entrepreneurs, you understand this instinctively. You didn't build your business by asking permission. You didn't build it by waiting for the perfect time. You leaped, you saw an opportunity, and you moved. But here's where most entrepreneurs fail. They leap in business, but they shuffle in their personal finances. Think about it. You wouldn't let someone run your company. You'd never say, oh, I'll just let someone else make decisions about my business. I'll just hope it turns out okay. No, you command your business. You lead, you make bold strategic decisions. So on day 10, I'm asking you, Where— why are you not leaping in your financial life? Are you not maximizing your retirement contributions? That's a failure of leadership over your own future. Are you not harvesting tax losses before the year ends? That's leaving money on the table. A leader doesn't do that. Are you not reviewing your portfolio? Not setting SMART goals for 2026. Not updating your beneficiary designations. These aren't optional. These are the 10 leaps that separate people who build lasting wealth from people who hope for it. Here's what I tell my clients. You become an entrepreneur, entrepreneur because you wanted to lead your life, not follow someone else's plan. So lead your finances the same way. The 10 things I outlined, these are the 10 Lords, your 10 moments of authority over your own financial destiny. Leap on them, lead on them, and own them. Now, day 11, 11 pipers piping. Here's the historical significance. Pipers were often musicians in royal courts. They didn't just play for themselves. They played to set the tone, to create harmony, to make sure all the different instruments— the strings, the woodwinds, the percussion— all came together in perfect unison. A good piper doesn't just play louder than everyone else. A good piper understands how their instrument fits into the whole orchestra. And here's where this becomes profound for entrepreneurs. Most entrepreneurs I know are excellent at playing one instrument very loud. They're amazing at their business, but they have no idea how that business instrument relates to their personal wealth symphony. They don't understand tax harmony. They don't understand investment harmony. They don't understand how their business income, their personal investments, their insurance, their retirement plans and their legacy plan all need to work together. Let me give you a real example. I had a business owner come to me, a very successful guy, built a great company. And here's what happened. His business was in an S corp structure, but his personal retirement account wasn't optimized for his income level. His insurance coverage was designed for when his kids were toddlers. But now that they're in college, it needs to be updated. His investment portfolio was completely misaligned with his business cycle, and his estate plan, it was 15 years old. He was like an orchestra where the violins were playing in one key, the horns in another, and nobody was in harmony. It's like that warm-up time that happens when you go to a play where it just sounds like a bunch of noise. When we stepped back and looked at the whole picture, when we became Pipers instead of just soloists, we were able to restructure his business entity, optimize his personal tax strategy, reallocate his investments, update his insurance, create a modern estate plan, build a successful strategy for his business. And here's the result. He cut his taxes by $40,000 a year. He increased his monthly cash flow. He built a business that can run without him, and he created peace of mind. That was me in 2021. That's what I did for myself when I decided that as an entrepreneur, I was going to run the business and the personal life together and create beautiful harmony. See, that's piping. That's orchestration. So on day 11, I'm asking you, Are you a soloist, or you are— are you in an orchestra making beautiful music together? Are you only looking at your business, or are you looking at how your business fits into your total financial picture? Is your tax strategy, your investment strategy, your insurance, your retirement, your legacy strategy all playing the same song? That's what real wealth building looks like. Not one instrument playing loud, multiple instruments creating harmony. Now to the end. Finally, day 12, 12 drummers drumming. Do you know what a drummer does? A drummer keeps the beat. Not just once, not just when they feel like it, not just when things are good. Every single day, in good times and bad, the drummer keeps the rhythm. Here's the historical meaning. In ancient times, drummers were essential. They kept the pace of armies on the march. They set the tempo for work. They were the heartbeat of progress. And here's how this applies to entrepreneurs building a one-of-a-kind life. Financial success is not a sprint. It's not a moment. It's not one perfect decision. Financial success is a rhythm. Most entrepreneurs understand this in business. You don't build a company in a month. You build it month after month, year after year, with consistency and discipline. But then somehow when it comes to personal finances, people want a shortcut. They want to make one investment and get rich. They want to buy a lottery ticket, right, and have their life made for them. They want to hear one piece of advice and hope that changes their life. That's not how it works. The people I know who have built true lasting wealth, they understand this rhythm. They have monthly budget check-ins, not obsessively, but intentionally. You know what's coming in and you know what's going out. They do quarterly portfolio reviews, not day trading. They're not chasing every market move, but they're reviewing. Are we on track? Do we need to adjust? They have semi-annual meetings with an advisor, somebody they trust, not because something is wrong, but because rhythm requires Consistency. And they do annual comprehensive planning. They look at the whole picture and they say, are we on track? What's changed? What needs adjustments? And throughout it all, they celebrate the wins. You know what I see? So many people grinding, grinding, grinding, or building, building, building, but never stopping to say, hey, we did it. We hit that goal. That's amazing. The drummer does— just doesn't keep the beat. The drummer plays with joy, with energy, with passion. And here's what I tell my team. We're just not managing money. We're not just helping people live their one-of-a-kind joy. That— we're doing this because we're helping them understand what it means to win. We acknowledge progress. We play to the beat with joy. So on day 12, I'm asking you, what's your rhythm? Are you consistent? Are you intentional? Are you celebrating? Because here's the truth: in 12 months, you're either going to be frustrated that you didn't make progress, or you're going to be amazed at what you accomplished if you simply keep the beat. Because a year from now, they'll still be singing the 12 Days of Christmas. But hopefully, the 12 days will be completely different for you. See, you— here I've talked about foundation, your vision, your partnership. You've learned about alignment, protection, and sustainable momentum. You've learned about grace, delegation, and rhythm. You've learned about leadership, the 10 lords who command your financial future. You've learned about harmony, the pipers who orchestrate your wealth. pitcher, and you've learned about perseverance, the drummers who keep the beat day after day, year after year. If you're ready to leap like a lord, orchestrate like a piper, persist like a drummer, then it's time to build your one-of-a-kind life. So, I'd love and welcome you to text the word ideas to 600-700. And when you do that, we're going to find out first, are you an entrepreneur looking to build a business? Are you a retiree looking to create the one-of-a-kind financial Are you someone who needs a mentor, coach, or a trainer? Because at the end of the day, I want to create the perfect financial match for you. Merry Christmas. This has been the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily, and I'm Mike Milligan. Now let's go build a one of a kind life together. Thank you for listening to this episode of the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. This is for educational purposes only. Any comments that Mike Milligan and Gary Nolan make on the One of a Kind Financial Show The opinions expressed on this show are those, the expressed thoughts of them, and should not be construed as recommendations from Advisory Alpha LLC. Mike is an investment advisory rep with Advisory Alpha LLC. Ideas by Mike, doing business as OneUp Financial, is an insurance agency educational platform and is unaffiliated with Advisory Alpha.

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