“A goal is a dream with a deadline” means that a goal is a dream fitted to reality, with a deadline for its accomplishment. The saying has been attributed to Napoleon Hill (1883-1970), author of the bestselling book Think and Grow Rich (1937), but there is no documentary evidence of the saying to be found in his books.
 
“A goal is a dream spelled out” is from 1976, “a goal is a dream taken seriously” is from 1981, ” a goal is a dream with muscle added” is from 1983, “a goal is a dream clad in work clothes” is from 1985, “a goal is a dream with a timetable” is from 1988, and “a goal is a dream with a commitment” is from 1991. Business author Harvey Mackay wrote in his bestselling book, Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive (1988):
 
“One of my good friends gave me her definition of a goal, and it’s the best one I’ve ever heard. ‘A goal is a dream with a deadline.’”
 
Mackay has popularized the saying, but the origin is unknown. The time management author Diana Scharf-Hunt is frequently credited (since the 1990s) with “Goals are dreams with deadlines;” she possibly said this in 1988, but there’s no documented evidence that she said it any earlier.
 
   
Wikiquote: Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill (26 October 1883 – 8 November 1970) was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature.
 
Sourced
A goal is a dream with a deadline.
. As quoted in Diamond Power: Gems of Wisdom from America’s Greatest Marketer (2003) by Barry Farber, p. 60
 
Google Books
Fifty Plus:
How recycling your potential now can mean a joyous and fulfilled tomorrow
By Jeanette W. Lockerbie
Old Tappan, NJ: Revell
1976
Pg. 97:
A goal is a dream spelled out.
In our younger years other people establish our goals. Sometimes it is not until we are fifty plus that we find we can activate a dream and turn it into a goal.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
A goal is a dream taken seriously : trainer guide
Author: Walter P Hopkins; Organization Design and Development, Inc.
Publisher: King of Prussia, PA. : Organization Design and Development, Inc., 1986, ©1981.
Edition/Format:  Book : English
 
Google Books
Believing in America
By Bud Shuster
New York, NY: Berkley Books
1984, ©1983
Pg. 240:
He learned that a dream is a goal you give your heart to, that a goal is a dream with muscle added.
 
9 February 1985, Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA), “Sen. Soaper Says” by Doug Larson, pg. 6, col. 6:
A goal is a dream clad in work clothes.
 
Google Books
The Inventurers:
Excursions in life and career renewal (3rd edition)
By Janet Hagberg and Richard Leider
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
1988
Pg. 118:
A goal is a dream with a timetable. Goals need to be clear, concrete, and written down. They need action steps and target dates that provide constant reinforcement and a sense of accomplishment that sustains your motivation.
 
Google Books
Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive:
Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate, & Outnegotiate Your Competition
By Harvey Mackay
New York, NY: Morrow
1988
Pg. 65:
One of my good friends gave me her definition of a goal, and it’s the best one I’ve ever heard. “A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
 
26 June 1988, Marietta (GA) Journal, “New business book really is readable” by Virginia Meldrum, pg. 4E, col. 3:
Mackay shrinks a commencement speaker’s discussion of goals into one pithy sentence: “A goal is a dream within a deadline.”
(Business author Harvey Mackay—ed.)
 
17 September 1991, The Gazette-News (Baldur, Manitoba), “Home Ec. News” by Marlene Baskerville, pg. 13, col. 2:
A Goal is a Dream with a Commitment.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
A goal is a dream with a deadline : extraordinary wisdom for entrepreneurs, managers, & other smart people
Author: Leo B Helzel
Publisher: New York [u.a.] : McGraw Hill, 1995.
Edition/Format:  Book : English
   
Google Books
Quotable Quotes
By Editors of Reader’s Digest
Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest
1997
Pg. ?:
Goals are dreams with deadlines.—DIANA SCHARF HUNT
   
Kansas City Business Journal (MO)
SWIM WITH THE SHARKS
Here’s how to hit your deadlines before they hit you
by Harvey Mackay, Contributing Writer
Date: Friday, May 4, 2012, 5:00am CDT
(...)
One of my favorite sayings is, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” That statement has three parts: (1) the goal, which is what I want to achieve; (2) the dream, which is what I think I can do; and (3) the deadline, which means I will accomplish what I set out to do.