High-Performance Speaker, Author, and Podcast host Brendan Burns studies success stories for inspiration as he prepares for his talks and live events. The reason why? “Success leaves clues,” Burns says. I sat down with him to discuss the seven biggest lessons he has learned from studying the NFL dynasty New England Patriots. As a New York Jets fan his whole life, Burns admits that it was hard watching the New England Patriots dominate the NFL for nearly 20 years! Nonetheless, he “loves studying success stories, like the Patriots, to improve myself and the lives of those I teach.”

Here are Burns’s 7 key takeaways that have made the New England Patriots so successful so you can vastly improve your life and future, too.

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1) Set Clear, Powerful and Measurable Goals

While it seems obvious, Burns points to the way the New England Patriots set the specific, measurable, and attainable goal at the beginning of every year to win the Super Bowl and be National Champions in the NFL. Due to this, Burns encourages his clients and students to set clear and strong goals for themselves. “So many people are not successful in their lives because they don’t even know what they truly want,” Burns says. He adds, “when you don’t set specific goals to work towards, you stay stuck, unfulfilled, and confused.”

Take the time to sit down and set very specific, measurable, and attainable goals for yourself. Ask yourself what you truly want in your life and set goals to go after your dreams.

2) Hard Work Beats Talent

During law school, Burns worked in the NFL’s legal department. One task he worked on was processing waiver claims, and within a week of the job, he noticed how much action the Patriots took. While other teams would add or cut a few players a week, the Patriots were aggressively adding, evaluating, and cutting many players to create their ideal roster. Additionally, head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots organization could care less if any given player went through a prestigious Division I college football program or even played college football at all. Many of the most successful players on the team, including famed quarterback Tom Brady, were late-round draft picks. And some of their didn’t even play college football, such as Chris Hogan, who played college lacrosse.

Burns respects the Patriots’ willingness to go for the scrappy, hungry players who are underrated, talented, and overlooked. This is something he remembers from his Wall Street days, where financial firms often cared more about which Ivy League school someone attended rather than how good of an investor they were or how hard they were willing to work. How could you apply this in your own life and walk with more confidence? Innate talent isn’t the dispositive factor in determining your future. Those who consistently and persistently put in the work are the ones who will experience the greatest success.

3) Reward Your Emotions

Burns also respects Coach Belichick’s policy of not get upset as long his players play full out and lead with their hearts. “If you watch replays from Patriots games, you’ll see that Belichick does get upset if a player doesn’t finish a play or hangs their head with a bad attitude, but not if the player makes a skill error,” Burns says.

If you go out there and give it your absolute best and “do your job” as a documentary about the team calls for, Coach Belichick will not hold it against you if you drop a pass or make a mistake on a play.

Burns asks, “Where could you add more emotion and passion to your life so that you can give it your all?”

4) Be Creative

While we are often programmed to act more “left-brained” or logical, analytical and objective, Burns recommends tapping into your creative, free-flowing right-brain as well. Unique and creative play calling has led to explosive touchdowns and wins for the Patriots. Plays like the infamous “Halfback Pass” or using offensive players like Julian Edelman on defense are both very nontraditional and have contributed tremendously to the team’s success. Creativity and thinking outside the box have been very rewarding for the Patriots and could be for you too. Consider what areas of your life or work are lacking inspiration and think about how to creatively transform them.

5) Take (Calculated) Risks

Burns respects The Patriots finding success by taking calculated risks that most teams are not willing to take. “They go for it on 4th down frequently as well as run other seemingly risky plays to show that their opponent that they’re confident and not willing to settle,” Burns highlights. By taking calculated risks from time to time, the team has given itself many competitive advantages. Sometimes taking a risk is the fastest and best way to get from where you are now to where you want to be. So consider, where could you take a calculated risk in your life?

6) Never, Ever, EVER Give Up

So many of the biggest Patriots wins, including the 2014 Super Bowl win against the Seattle Seahawks and the even more impressive comeback win in the 2016 Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons were games where it looked like they had NO chance of winning. Trailing the Falcons 28-3 in the 3rd quarter of the game, the Patriots never gave up, even when they were given a mere 0.3% chance of winning and just focused on the next play. And then the next play after that.

If you watch the game film, you can see quarterback Tom Brady on the sidelines keeping his head up and saying over and over that they can still win this game. And he believed it. They slowly but surely clawed their way back to pull off the biggest comeback ever in Super Bowl history. Challenges are inevitable, but if you keep your head up, believe in your goals and continue to push forward, you can overcome adversity and find massive success on the other side.

7) Find Your Ernie

One character in Patriots lore that Burns finds particularly fascinating is the mysterious Ernie Adams, whose official title is “Football Research Director.” Ernie is often described as the Patriots’ man behind the curtain. In the final moments of the 2014 Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks, cornerback Malcom Butler made the play of his lifetime, and one of the biggest plays ever in Super Bowl history, with his game-ending goal-line interception. But that play was not a random act of luck. In the weeks leading up to the game, the Patriots’ Ernie Adams had studied hours upon hours of Seattle Seahawk film and knew the team would run that pass play in a key moment. As a result, Butler had been shown this play in practice many times and was instructed by the coaching staff to “go over the top” and make a manoeuvre that would not let the wide receiver screen him, resulting in the historic Super Bowl play.

Thanks to the thorough research and preparation from Ernie, Butler sealed the game with his interception, made the play of his life, and locked in a Super Bowl win for the Patriots. The question Burns encourages readers to ask themselves is how research and preparation might benefit them.

Today, Burns helps people from around the world maximize their lives. He shares all of his best business and self-development tools, to help people achieve high levels of success, fulfillment, and most importantly, happiness. He coaches high performers, professional athletes, business executives, and others interested in personal or professional development. Burns also manages the @brendanhburns account on Instagram, which has more than 100,000 followers. He currently resides in New York City, where he hosts the iTunes Show “The Brendan Burns Show,” which is also featured on Spotify.