Using the story of his life and how he rose from being a poor boy in Portland to one of the richest men in Jamaica and Canada today as illustration, billionaire businessman and philanthropist Michael Lee-Chin on Wednesday sought to inspire grade 11 students of Kingston High School to greatness.

His first lesson was identifying opportunities.

The talk was one in a series of motivational sessions dubbed the Chairman’s Forum, which is organised by chairman of the Wolmer’s Trust Milton Samuda. It was the first outside of Wolmer’s.

“On the first day of high school we were spoken to by the custos, who said, ‘Boys and girls, opportunity knocks but once!’,” Lee-Chin reminisced. He attended Titchfield High School in Portland, followed by Excelsior High School.

He said in the days following that, he hardly slept, not wanting his one opportunity to pass him by while he slept or gazed or played ‘nooks’ or marbles. This was until a friend convinced him otherwise.

“A friend told me that every day in life there are opportunities. Unfortunately, they are always clad in crisis so people miss them,” he said, utilising a Chinese interpretation of the word crisis, equating it to danger plus opportunity.

“It is impossible to have a good opportunity without a crisis. All the important moves I made in my life came out of crisis,” said the president and CEO of Portland Holdings, and owner of National Commercial Bank, while cautioning that the only way one will benefit from the crisis is by consciously recognising that there is an opportunity within it.

Lee-Chin shared that after high school, he gained employment for a year and saved CDN$2,000 for his first year of university. He got a job cutting grass at McMaster University, where he read for his degree in civil engineering. However, his earnings from that job weren’t enough to cover the expenses for his subsequent years of study. After many unanswered letters to the scholarship unit in Jamaica, he decided to write to the Office of the Prime Minister requesting financial help. Then Prime Minister Hugh Shearer responded, awarding him a scholarship of CDN$5,000 per year until he completed his studies.

In addition to the engineering degree, Lee-Chin holds honorary doctorate degrees from a number of distinguished universities, including: McMaster University, University of Toronto, Northern Caribbean University, Wilfrid Laurier University — where he has been re-appointed as chancellor — The University of the West Indies, and York University.

Lesson number two was how to go take advantage of opportunities. For this, Lee-Chin used the analogy of a race with triple Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt.

“In a race with Usain Bolt, how many Saudi Arabian princes are there? None. This is the perfect meritocracy. There are just nine guys with desire, perseverance and discipline.”

“That is the kind of Jamaica we want to build; where everybody can compete and only the best win… You live in the kind of country that if you are hard-working, disciplined, and have strong desire, you can be anything you want to be,” said Lee-Chin, who has been appointed chair of the Government of Jamaica’s newly established Economic Growth Council.

“So your job is not ‘poor me’. It’s a matter of desire, perseverance and discipline,” he continued.

Even as he challenged the students to be the best, he cautioned that it is not always that more effort results in more success. Using an equation, he illustrated that sometimes one is working against the curve, but if one perseveres, he/she will eventually reap success.

“In a parade, there are three types of people: One is the leader, saying ‘left, right, left right.’ There are the followers and those who don’t even know what is happening. Which are you?

“I always try to be the best, because if I am not the best, I am at a disadvantage,” said the billionaire, pointing out that the extent of success the students achieve will be determined by who they compare themselves with and identify as their competition.

Lee-Chin’s third lesson focused on being the best.

“To be the best grade 11 student in the world, it’s going to take three things. One, identify a role model; two, find out their recipe; and three, follow faithfully,” he taught.

Topping the lesson off, Lee-Chin encouraged the students to never neglect or hate themselves, and used his first job in Canada in the 1970s — selling stocks and securities to white folk — as example.

“Do I bleach my skin colour? Do I drop my accent and ‘twang up’? But I thought that if I am to be the best person possible, I must be the best me possible,” said Lee-Chin.

He also advised the students to never be afraid to ask for help, among other tips for success in class and in life.

Kingston High is located on upper King Street in the Jamaican capital.