[citation][nom]Agges[/nom]These CEOs win the lottery for a living, with that kind of money coming in I wonder what you have to do to get there..*hope to be back in 20 years time to you know*[/citation]
Statements like this are patently absurd. You might as well claim that General Schwarzkopf, or General McChrystal, or General Petraeus won "life's lottery."
A CEO is a perfect storm of ambition, energy, creativity, education, vision, and social networking. If you have most, but not all of those things, you can probably still be successful and end up in management at anywhere from low-level manager to senior VP. Most people only see the perks of the job of being a corporate CEO: the limos, the private jets, the exclusive clubs, and of course, the generous compensation packages. What they don't see are the frequent 80 - 90 hour work weeks, the constantly being on call, the responsibilty for thousands or even tens of thousands of employees (and by proxy, their families), the pressure of being expected to perform and make money CONSISTENTLY for the shareholders. The simple fact is that most people would be unable or unwilling to put in that kind of effort.
Here's a simple test: if you think you've got what it takes to be a CEO, then quite your job and start your own business. It's pretty easy to draw a paycheck without having to worry about actually making enough money to justify your employment. Once you get into the middle six-figure salaries and above, you are there ONLY because you make a lot more money than that for someone else.