Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.

Source: Carlson, Chuck. Game of My Life: 25 Stories of Packers Football. Sports Publishing, LLC, 2004. Additional Information: This motivational quote is a shortened version of a statement Lombardi made during his first team meeting as Packers coach in 1959. The quote was later printed in books such as Game of My Life: 25 Stories of Packers Football by Chuck Carlson and Legends of Alabama Football by Richard Scott and Jay Barker. Here is a longer version of the Lombardi quote:

Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in just being good.