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James Van Der Beek was one of the biggest stars of the late 1990s and early 2000s. His family still couldn’t afford the cost of cancer. The actor, 48, best known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in the 90s hit Dawson’s Creek, died Wednesday. Van Der Beek’s passing comes a little more than a year after he announced on social media that he was battling colorectal cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2023. And while the actor and father’s untimely death is undeniably tragic, there’s another heartbreaking piece of the story to be told. His family was desperately struggling to afford the cost of his cancer treatment. Despite having enjoyed a successful careerwhich included hits like Varsity Blues (1999) and The Rules of Attraction (2002), as well as playing the lead role in a popular TV drama for six seasonsthe actor still spent the final years of his life struggling financially. Last year, Van Der Beek teamed up with the auction house Propstore to sell his personal collection of memorabilia, wardrobe items, and set pieces from Dawson’s Creek and his most notable films to raise money for his treatment. “I’ve been storing these treasures for years, waiting for the right time to do something with them. And with all of the recent unexpected twists and turns life has presented recently, it’s clear that the time is now,” Van Der Beek told People magazine at the time. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the auction raised around $47,000. His plight begs the question: If one of the most successful actors of the late 1990s and early 2000s can’t afford cancer treatment in the United States, who can? According to a 2022 survey from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), not many. Per the survey, more than 70% of respondents said they made significant lifestyle changes in order to afford their care. And more than half (51%) went into medical debt due to treatment. The statistics were worse for certain groups, with women more likely to report medical debt than men (57% versus 36%), and Black Americans more likely to go into debt than white Americans (62% versus 52%). Likewise, states with fewer people enrolled in Medicaid had higher rates of medical debt due to cancer (58% compared with 49% in states with expanded Medicaid offerings). But overall, almost three-quarters of the cancer patients surveyed were worried about being able to afford the cost of their current care, as well as costs that may stack up in the future (73%). On Wednesday, amid the tributes and heartfelt words, a GoFundMe page dedicated to the actor’s family also showed up online. The page, which GoFundMe told Fast Company has been verified, explained that the family has been under “significant financial strain” due to Van Der Beek’s medical expenses. “In the wake of this loss, Kimberly and the children are facing an uncertain future,” it said. “The costs of Jamess medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds. They are working hard to stay in their home and to ensure the children can continue their education and maintain some stability during this incredibly difficult time.” At present, the page has raised over $1.4 million for his wife and six kids. The efforts being made for the actor’s family may be touching. They are happening, in part, because the actor was well loved. Shortly after his death was made public, the tributes from friends and colleagues began pouring in. One belief, which seemed to be shared by those who knew him, was how deeply genuine and kind he was, with many describing him as the antithesis of everything Hollywood actors are known to be. “There are people in this industry who are talented. Some who are charismatic. A few who are generous,” wrote actress Alyssa Milano. “And then there were the rare onesthe truly kind and thoughtful. James was the rare kind. He showed up for his people. He listened. He cared.” She went on to call him a “unicorn of a man.” The sentiments were echoed by many other actors he grew up alongside, including Katie Holmes and Melissa Joan Hart. In the end, the outpouring of love for Van Der Beek underscores both how deeply he was valued and how precarious illness remains in the United States, even for those who seem outwardly successful. That his family needed to rely on auctions and crowdfunding to survive a cancer diagnosis is not an anomaly, but a reflection of a system where serious illness often comes with financial ruin attached.
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January filled our inboxes with productivity advice. Set stretch goals! Think bigger! Dream audaciously! What was conspicuously absent from all that exhortation was any practical guidance on how to move from grand vision to daily action without becoming paralyzed by the enormity of what we’ve committed to. And now, its February. Here’s a counterintuitive truth I’ve learned from decades of navigating complex creative challenges: The secret to tackling big, hairy, audacious goals (BHAG) isn’t summoning more willpower or grinding harder. It’s learning to approach complexity the way babies learn to eat solid food: one tiny, digestible bite at a time. I call it the Baby Food Method. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking_0b545c.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cem\u003EWonderRigor Newsletter\u003C\/em\u003E","dek":"Want more insights, tools, and invitations from Dr. Natalie Nixon about applying creativity for meaningful business results and the future of work? Subscribe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u=https-3A__figure-2D8-2Dthinking-2Dllc.kit.com_sign-2Dup\u0026amp;d=DwMFaQ\u0026amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM\u0026amp;r=xHenyQfyc6YcuCNMBsOvfYGQILM1d1ruredVZikn4HE\u0026amp;m=F383gnrChFhYKPhcpNHI1hY3o58IHIn_LkB5QJDrs3G5Wfft-DcucUO4UEmGO7GZ\u0026amp;s=JlJm7GyKCJvPW0jyrsfTFtinteKDitN13vfPZiuJnP8\u0026amp;e=\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E for the free WonderRigor newsletter at Figure8Thinking.com","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/Figure8Thinking.com","theme":{"bg":"#3b3f46","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#6e8ba6","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91470060,"imageMobileId":91470061,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} Why your brain rebels against big goals When you declare a massive objective- launch a company, write a book, transform your organization’s culture- your brain doesn’t throw a parade. It throws up barriers! Neuroscience tells us that ambiguity and uncertainty trigger the same stress responses as physical threat. Your amygdala can’t distinguish between “I need to escape this predator” and “I have no idea how to execute this strategic pivot.” This is why so many January resolutions collapse by February. The goal itself becomes a source of anxiety rather than motivation. The solution isn’t to dream smaller. It’s to digest smarter. The Baby Food Principle Think about how infants transition from liquid to solid food. No parent hands a six-month-old a steak and says, “Figure it out.” Instead, they puree single ingredients into smooth, manageable portions. Carrots become orange mush. Peas become green paste. One new taste at a time, until gradually the palate, and the digestive system, can handle increasing complexity. Your audacious goals deserve the same graduated approach. The Baby Food Method works in three stages: puree, introduce, and integrate. Stage one: puree the complexity Before you can act on a big goal, you need to break it down into its most fundamental components, the equivalent of pureeing that carrot. This isn’t the same as creating a project plan or building a Gantt chart. It’s more elemental than that. Ask yourself: What are the irreducible units of this ambition? If your goal is to write a book, the puree might be: capture one idea worth exploring. Not “write Chapter One.” Not even “outline the book.” Just: find one compelling thought and get it out of your head. When I left a 16-year academic career to become an entrepreneur, I didn’t start by building a business plan. I started by having one conversation with someone who’d made a similar leap. One conversation. That was my puree. Stage two: introduce new elements gradually Babies don’t eat pureed carrots forever. Once they’ve mastered one food, theyre introduced to another. Then you start combining- carrots with sweet potato, apple with banana. The complexity builds incrementally, and each successful integration expands capacity for the next. Apply this to your BHAG. Once you’ve captured that one idea, introduce the next element: share it with someone whose perspective you trust. Then another: test it against a real-world problem. Each small introduction builds your tolerance for the ambiguity that initially triggered resistance. This is where I see leaders stumble most often. They puree beautifully, break their goal into components, and then they try to swallow everything at once! They mistake “understanding the pieces” for “being ready to execute them simultaneously.” Your nervous system doesn’t work that way. Neither does sustainable progress. Stage three: integrate toward solid food Eventually, a child graduates to actual table food. They’ve developed the motor skills, the digestive capacity, and the palate sophistication to handle complexity. The same progression applies to creative execution. Integration means combining your mastered elements into increasingly ambitious iterations. That one conversation becomes five conversations, which reveal patterns, which suggest a framework, which informs a proposal, which shapes a pilot project. At no point do you face the full weight of “build a business.” You face only the next natural increment of what you’ve already proven you can handle. A practical application Here’s how the Baby Food Method might work for a common goal: transforming your team’s approach to innovation. Puree: Host one 15-minute “what if” session with your team. No agenda beyond exploring one assumption you’ve never questioned. Introduce: Add a second element, perhaps a “So what?” follow-up the next week, where you examine whether any of those “what ifs” have practical relevance. Integrate: Combine the pattern into a monthly rhythm. Then invite a cross-functional colleague to join. Then pilot one small experiment that emerged from the discussions. Twelve months from now, you may find you’ve built an innovation culture. And not because you announced “We’re becoming innovative!” but because you fed your organization one digestible bite at a time. The gift of graduated ambition Th Baby Food Method isn’t about lowering your sights. It’s about respecting the neuroscience of how humans actually change. We don’t transform through declarations. We transform through accumulated micro-actions that gradually rewire what we believe we’re capable of. Those early bites build what I call your inventory of courage. Each small success deposits evidence that you can handle complexity. When you eventually face the full weight of your audacious goal, you’re not starting from scratch. You’re drawing on months of proven capability. So remember, don’t just set the big goal. Puree it. What’s the smallest, most digestible first bite you could take this week? Start there. The steak can wait. The puree is where transformation begins. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking_0b545c.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cem\u003EWonderRigor Newsletter\u003C\/em\u003E","dek":"Want more insights, tools, and invitations from Dr. Natalie Nixon about applying creativity for meaningful business results and the future of work? Subscribe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u=https-3A__figure-2D8-2Dthinking-2Dllc.kit.com_sign-2Dup\u0026amp;d=DwMFaQ\u0026amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM\u0026amp;r=xHenyQfyc6YcuCNMBsOvfYGQILM1d1ruredVZikn4HE\u0026amp;m=F383gnrChFhYKPhcpNHI1hY3o58IHIn_LkB5QJDrs3G5Wfft-DcucUO4UEmGO7GZ\u0026amp;s=JlJm7GyKCJvPW0jyrsfTFtinteKDitN13vfPZiuJnP8\u0026amp;e=\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E for the free WonderRigor newsletter at Figure8Thinking.com","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/Figure8Thinking.com","theme":{"bg":"#3b3f46","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#6e8ba6","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91470060,"imageMobileId":91470061,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
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As the Trump administration prepares to close the Kennedy Center for a two-year renovation, the head of Washington’s performing arts center has warned its staff about impending cuts that will leave “skeletal teams.”In a Tuesday memo obtained by the Associated Press, Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell told staff that “departments will obviously function on a much smaller scale with some units totally reduced or on hold until we begin preparations to reopen in 2028,” promising “permanent or temporary adjustments for most everyone.”Over the next few months, he wrote, department heads would be “evaluating the needs and making the decisions as to what these skeletal teams left in place during the facility and closure and construction phase will look like.” Grenell said leadership would “provide as much clarity and advance notice as possible.”The Kennedy Center is slated to close in early July. Few details about what the renovations will look like have been released since President Donald Trump announced his plan at the beginning of February. Neither Trump nor Grenell have provided evidence to support claims about the building being in disrepair, and last October, Trump had pledged it would remain open during renovations.“Upon the completion of these upgrades, Americans and visitors from all over the world, for generations to come, will enjoy the Center and marvel at its spectacular features and design,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Wednesday.It’s unclear exactly how many employees the center currently has, but a 2025 tax filing said nearly 2,500 people were employed during the 2023 calendar year. A request for comment sent to Kennedy Center Arts Workers United, which represents artists and arts professionals affiliated with the center, wasn’t immediately returned.Leading performers and groups have left or canceled appearances since Trump ousted the center’s leadership a year ago and added his own name to the building in December. The Washington Post, which first reported about Grenell’s memo, has also cited significant drops in ticket revenue, whichalong with private philanthropycomprises the center’s operating budget. Officials have yet to say whether such long-running traditions as the Mark Twain Award for comedy or the honors ceremony for lifetime contributions to the arts will continue while the center is closed.The Kennedy Center was first conceived as a national cultural facility during the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s. President John F. Kennedy led a fundraising initiative, and the yet-to-be-built center was named in his honor following his assassination. It opened in 1971 and has become a preeminent showcase for theater, music, and dramatic performances, enjoying bipartisan backing until Trump’s return to office last year.“This renovation represents a generational investment in our future,” Grenell wrote. “When we reopen, we will do so as a stronger organizationone that honors our legacy while expanding our impact.” Hillel Italie, AP National Writer
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