Canada’s business leaders have had a variety of employment beginnings, from paper routes and babysitting to farm work on the family farm. While their first jobs were generally humble, their aspirations as youths for their adult careers were ambitious. Nearly one in five have fulfilled their childhood dream of becoming successful business leaders, while 17% wanted to grow up to be professional athletes. A full 10% of respondents dreamt of growing up to be military leaders.

How satisfied are business leaders with their current careers? One indication is how sizable a lottery they would have to win to leave their jobs. Notably, more than one in three business leaders say that no amount of lottery winnings could get them to leave their job, while the majority of business leaders say that on average $7.5M would be enough.

These are the key findings from this week’s National Post/COMPAS survey sponsored by BDO Dunwoody and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

View / Download complete poll in PDF