Chad Lewis

Former NFL player Chad Lewis helps people understand the power of surrounding yourself with greatness through stories and examples from great leaders in his life. He shares how these leaders have made him the person he is today. Chad uses his experiences of playing in the NFL, and how it relates to every person, career, and company. What does it take to get to the Super Bowl? He will help you understand.

Chad Lewis walked- on to the BYU football team and was a four-year starter as a tight end. While he played for LaVell Edwards, BYU finished in the top ten two times, with a rank of 10th in '94 and 5th in '96. Following his career at BYU, Chad entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, making the team with the Eagles. He spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, the St. Louis Rams, and then back with the Eagles, where he became a starter. He was selected to the Pro Bowl three times and helped his team get to the Super Bowl once. Chad and his wife, Michelle, have seven children and live in Cedar Hills, Utah.

Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Chad Lewis says that every good thing in his life is a direct result of his family and his faith.
Surround Yourself with Greatness takes readers around the world while looking through the eyes, mind, and heart of Chad Lewis- a once freckle-faced, four-eyed, skinny teenager who at an early age wrote in his journal, "My goal and quest is to surround myself with greatness . . . only greatness will penetrate the walls of my heart."

Within this soul-searching, character- framing chapters, we meet extraordinary people- coaches, teammates, friends, and family-and learn what a profound influence we have on each other's lives.

From the miraculous, near-death experience of his father to the life-changing events in Taiwan as a missionary to the brutal football training camps and his nine-year career in the NFL, Chad takes us on a path to our own self-discovery as he shares his secrets to happiness and what it means to surround yourself with greatness.

"We live in a world of relationships that are dynamic. We need each other. We need to choose, with conscious awareness, to open our eyes, heart, and mind to the great people who elevate life that are all around us."

What People Are Saying:

Andy Reid
"Chad Lewis has captured my mind and emotions. His diverse dive into life's pool can help teach all of us that it is a privilege to live and that fear is only a natural opponent that can be conquered and actually used to elevate us over life's hurdles. Chad's leadership, toughness, heart, and spirit are profoundly exposed for our viewing. These are the same characteristics that made him an All-Pro NFL football player but more important and All-Pro teammate and person."--(Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach)

Paul Tagliabue
"If you want to know what leaders do or what qualities and experiences are the foundations of leadership, Chad Lewis's wonderful reflections on his life, his family, friends, and faith should be at the top of your reading list. Whether you are a teenager or adult, athlete or not, Chad's story provides a unique insider's perspective on the NFL and college football, the profound impact of deep friendships, outreach across cultures and religions, and dozens of other key subjects."--(Paul Tagliabue, former NFL Commissioner)

Sal Paolantonio
"In the 19th Century, the Founding Fathers of Football - Walter Camp and Amos Alonzo Stagg - relied on the teachings of the Second Great Awakening, the national religious movement that inspired Americans to realize their full potential as citizens and human beings. Clearly, they had Chad Lewis in mind. This book - Surround Yourself with Greatness - shows how the singularly American game of football is a blueprint for life - a great life, a life filled with the civic, religious and family bonds and responsibilities that make a difference in our complex world. With this book, Chad Lewis is a great teacher in that great tradition."--(Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, Author of How Football Explains America)