From landscaper to billionaire business leader, Michael Lee-Chin’s career trajectory has been interesting, to say the least.

He says the trick to building a fulfilling career is to find your purpose and follow where it takes you.

“It’s very easy to lose one’s North Star. Being purpose-driven keeps you focused. It makes you passionate,” he says.

Having arrived in Hamilton from Jamaica to attend McMaster in 1970, Lee-Chin found himself feeling a bit disorientated – things were very different from his life in a small rural community on the Caribbean island. But it was McMaster’s supportive environment that helped him strengthen his confidence and achieve his goals. It’s an experience he is grateful for and a time in his life he speaks of fondly.

In this episode of Unconventional, Lee-Chin discusses his purpose-driven approach to cultivating success and reflects on the ups and downs of an amazing, and often humbling, career journey.

McMaster has more than 210,000 alumni living in 140 countries around the world, and they are some of the most amazing people you would ever want to meet.  The Unconventional podcast will introduce some of our alumni who are working — in the arts, as cutting-edge entrepreneurs, leading the way in health, education, technology and more —  to make our world a brighter place in their own unique way. Download the latest episode, or catch up if you’ve missed one, on Apple, Spotify, Google, or Soundcloud.