Editor’s Note: Annette M. Walker is president of the City of Hope Orange County, where she oversaw a $1.5 billion expansion that includes a cancer campus in Irvine. She is on the Business Journal’s first-ever list of the 50 Most Prominent Businesswomen in Orange County. See Page 1 for more.
I often say that lives and careers are like icebergs.
Only 10% is visible. The rest is hidden below the surface. Above the waterline, everything can look majestic – even aspirational.
What a résumé never shows are the late nights, the missteps, the disappointments and the hard choices.
You won’t see the day I learned I was not even on my pay scale.
You won’t see the jobs I did not get.
You won’t see the projects that did not go the way I expected.
Like an iceberg, the real work happens below the surface. That is where you find your real strength.
The Pilgrimage on El Camino
Strength is not built by standing still and looking successful.
It is built by putting one foot in front of the other – even when the path ahead is uncertain.
I learned that again a few years ago, when my husband, Chuck, and I walked 220 miles on the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage through Spain.
At first glance, the Camino appears to be a scenic hike. But it is more than a physical journey; it is a metaphor for life, and it is full of surprises and lessons.
One hot afternoon on the Camino, I stopped to rest and noticed an eagle and a crow. The crow is the only bird that has the audacity to bother an eagle. The crow was bold enough to perch on the eagle’s back and peck at it. But the eagle did not waste any energy fighting back. Instead, it rose higher and higher into the sky.
Eventually, the crow could no longer handle the altitude and fell away.
The lesson? Rise. And keep rising. Do not waste your strength on crows. Just go higher.
Shed the Weight of Regret
If you have ever walked for six or eight hours with a backpack, you know you feel every choice you made before you left. That extra water. That unnecessary item you thought you might need.
Life is the same way. Be careful what you carry in your pack.
Failure, resentment, regret and old wounds will all ask to come along for the journey.
Sometimes we hold onto those things because they become familiar.
But they do not make us stronger. They weigh us down.
If you are carrying something that no longer serves you, leave it on the trail.
If you want to walk well, walk light.
In my 40 years of experience, I have learned that we often pursue success because we believe it will lead us to comfort, certainty and arrival.
For a time, I thought I had arrived.
I was one of the top executives in the third-largest health system in the country. I could do the work in my sleep. The paycheck and retirement were on auto-deposit. Everything was dialed in.
And then the phone rang. It was Robert Stone, CEO of City of Hope. He described an opportunity to build something new – something that could transform cancer care for a community I loved.
So I had to decide.
Should I leave the office with the sweeping views and private bathroom – the kind of perk that signals a sign of success?
Should I leave all of that for a startup built around an idea?
My new office would be a Costco table, a cell phone, no walls and certainly no view.
On paper, City of Hope Orange County did not add up.
But sometimes the best decisions in life are not made on paper.
Something kept telling me: Jump. And as you know, I listened to that voice.
I made private phone calls from an equipment room and kept a broom in the door jamb so I would not accidentally lock myself inside.
But without the trappings, the vision became clearer.
A Great Passion for Life
Building City of Hope Orange County became one of the greatest passions of my life. Despite a pandemic and countless challenges, our team fulfilled our promise to open Orange County’s most advanced cancer center – on time and on budget.
And on Dec. 1, 2025, Orange County’s only cancer specialty hospital welcomed its first patient.
This has not been the most comfortable chapter of my career. But it is the most meaningful.
So do not become too attached to the trappings of success. They can be deceiving.
Choose work that matters. Choose work that makes the world better.
As James Arthur Ray once said, “In your life’s defining moments, there are two choices: You either step forward in faith and power or you step back into fear.”
As women, we live in a time where we have extraordinary opportunity to shape the lives we want.
You will hear endless advice about achievement, titles and career progression. But what people may not tell you is this: while you are busy building your career, your life is also unfolding.
So, yes – build your career. But do not forget to build your life.
One day, you will leave the job. Your title will not be on your tombstone.
My husband and I have been married for 46 years. Together, we raised six children and now have 15 grandchildren. We built a life while building our careers. It was not always easy, but it was deeply meaningful.
So do not just follow the path of greatest success.
Follow the paths of love, meaning and inspiration.
Walk Well – Walk Light
