Hunting Greatness: NFL Star Chad Greenway Shares 10 Tips for Success
Wouldn't you think if you make it to the NFL you'd be on easy street? Uh, no. The competition only gets more intense, but there's a lot we can all learn about what really matters in life.
What sets a champion apart from the competition? It’s not talent, titles or honors. It’s a humble spirit combined with a relentless commitment to excellence.
“You can always do more,” said Chad Greenway, 42, an Iowa Hawkeye football legend and former Minnesota Vikings linebacker who was a keynote speaker at the 2025 Iowa Pork Congress in Des Moines. “If you think you have it all figured out or have played the perfect game, you’re wrong.”
It was fascinating to hear these insider stories direct from Greenway, who’s still a South Dakota farm kid at heart. What impressed me not only were his stories from the trenches, but his graciousness when fans of all ages wanted to visit with him, have him sign autographs and even give them life advice after he spoke at the Iowa Pork Congress. He was friendly and kind to everyone who wanted to visit a bit.
This perspective on life took root when Greenway was growing up on a South Dakota farm near Mount Vernon (population 368), west of Mitchell. The mindset served him well when Greenway became an Iowa Hawkeye linebacker.
Greenway, who earned All-America and first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2004 and 2005. He was also instrumental in helping the Hawkeyes receive invitations to four bowl games, winning the 2004 Outback and 2005 Capital One bowls. “I didn’t know where my journey would take me next, but my plan was to go back to the farm,” said Greenway, who graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in communications studies.
As it turned out, Greenway became the 17th player selected in the 2006 National Football League (NFL) draft. He spent 11 seasons in the NFL, all with the Minnesota Vikings, before retiring in 2017.
Dare to dream
Today, Greenway shares the lessons he has learned throughout his journey with his presentation, “Hunt Greatness,” which inspires audiences to pursue excellence by staying true to time-honored values.
1. Watch and learn. Growing up on his family’s farm taught Greenway the value of hard work and resourcefulness. “Don’t slack off and think that just because the hay is in the barn that everything’s fine,” he said. These lessons grounded Greenway during his NFL rookie year, when he tore his ACL (the strong band of tissue that connects the shinbone to the thighbone). “That injury turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me,” Greenway said. “It gave me time to watch and learn how the NFL works.”
2. Character counts. Integrity, responsibility, self-discipline and teamwork impact your professional and personal life. Greenway recalled one of his fellow Vikings who was blessed with incredible talent, but his me-first attitude, extreme focus on money and quickness to challenge leadership cut short his promising career. “He couldn’t get out of his own way,” Greenway said. “He ended up leaving the NFL well before his time.” Contrast this with another of Greenway’s former teammates. That player always maintained a team-first attitude and made the most of every opportunity to prove his value to the team. “We’d see him showing up early, often and consistently,” Greenway said. “We cheered him on, because we wanted him to succeed.”
3. Accentuate attitude and enthusiasm. Embrace a positive attitude, and project enthusiasm—two things that draw people to you. “These things take zero talent, but they set you apart and make you a natural leader,” Greenway said.
4. Develop grit. Talent is not enough to succeed in the NFL. “All the players are exceptional, and so are the coaches’ expectations,” Greenway said. Persistence, determination, resilience and a willing to do what it takes are essential. “What’s grit? When it’s week 15, your team is 3 and 13, but you still show up every day and keep grinding,” Greenway said. Some coaches call this success principle “breaking the rock.” “On the 1,000th blow, you break the rock,” Greenway said. “Everything you did the previous 999 times led to this success.”
5. Accept accountability. Raise your hand when it’s your fault, Greenway said. “Say, ‘it’s on me,’ and move on.” Also, don’t be a “yes man,” said Greenway, who recalled a teammate who was one of the most talented running backs in the NFL. “So many people told him how great he was, but there were still some things he needed to improve. I knew I’d be letting the whole team down if I didn’t try to help him.”
6. Realize how much relationships matter. “Show me the five people you hang around the most, and I’ll show you who you are,” Greenway said. He noted how his former teammate Steve Hutchinson elevated everyone’s level of play. This talented offensive lineman went to team meetings armed with six highlighters and wrote down multiple pages of color-coded notes. “Even though Steve was a physically superior athlete, he was always mentally prepared, too,” said Greenway, who noted that Hutchinson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020. “Hanging around with great people makes you better.”
7. Remember that iron sharpens iron. While retiring as a Viking is a highlight of Greenway’s career, it wasn’t a given. By year eight of his NFL career, there was a change in coaching staff—along with a stark message for Greenway. Accept a pay cut, or get cut from the team. “It was a gamble, but I took the pay cut,” Greenway said. “The chip on my shoulder was fully engaged again, I had to prove that I belonged.” Little details mattered more than ever. When Greenway didn’t run a play quite right, the coach moved him over 6 inches and shouted, “NOW run that play!” All that hard work paid off. “I learned more that year than I did the previous eight years,” Greenway said. “In my 11th year in the NFL, I signed a contract for the exact amount they took from me the previous two years.”
8. Lead the way. It’s important to serve others and give back. Greenway and his wife, Jennifer (Capista) Greenway, a former University of Iowa women’s track star, started Chad Greenway’s Lead the Way Foundation in 2008. This foundation provides daily support and life-changing experiences to seriously ill and physically-challenged children throughout the Midwest. In 2018, through the foundation’s Chad’s Locker program, the Greenways donated a mobile entertainment cabinet packed with iPads, laptops, movies and video games intended to lift the spirits of patients and their families at the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital. “Do things that don’t directly benefit you,” said Greenway, who received the Big Ten Conference Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award in 2017.
9. Never forget where you came from. Of all his athletic accomplishments, one of Greenway’s favorite memories occurred during his senior year of high school. He and his classmates got to play nine-man football at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, South Dakota. “I’d been together with many of my teammates since kindergarten,” said Greenway, who graduated with 26 kids in his class. “Without those seven guys, I never could have lived out my dreams.”
10. Keep things in perspective. It’s important to find your why—the motivation behind what you do and how you do it. “For me, football has been what I do, not who I am,” said Greenway, a father of four children. Once players have been out of the NFL 10 years or more, most are irrelevant and forgotten, he added. Knowing your purpose allows you to focus on the right priorities, including family and community service. “Your motives determine your actions,” Greenway said. “Your actions tell me more than your words.”
I’m a 5th generation farmer, Iowa's Storyteller, a member of the Humanities Iowa Speakers’ Bureau, CMO (chief memory officer), ag journalist, and author of various Iowa history books, including A Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites & More; Iowa Agriculture: A History of Farming, Family and Food; The Lincoln Highway in Iowa: A History; Dallas County [Iowa]; Madison County [Iowa]; Calhoun County [Iowa]; and Classic Restaurants of Des Moines and Their Recipes.
I help businesses find their "wow" stories to inspire people to dream bigger, revitalize rural America and change the world for the good. You can also learn more about my work at www.darcymaulsby.com.
I’m also a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Check out these writers’ work (see below). We welcome the support of paid subscribers.
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