(upbeat music) >> Whitney: Coming up, we have the first woman in NFL coach.

>> And I think if your only goal is, "This is gonna be important, other people are going to notice this," I don't think that's enough motivation.

I think you have to deeply care.. >> Announcer: "The Whitney Reynolds Show" is supported by, Sciton, because results matter.

Leigh Marcus with @ properties, sold on helping our community and closing homes.

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>> Anyone with passion knows what it feels like to be relentless.

And today we have so many guests that the word relentless is a huge part of their story.

We have the first woman in NFL coach, a journalist who broke the Enron story in 2008 and a doctor who is risking it all to save lives in war zones.

(upbeat music) You're watching the "Whitney Reynolds Show."

Enron and the journalist who broke the story, that's where we begin.

Welcome to the show.

>> Thanks for having me.

>> So today we're talking about relentless.

And I have to say, breaking the Enron story.

That's pretty wild.

Tell us about how you went about that.

>> Well, thank you.

I think it's one of the rare times in life where you're given too much credit for something, because I was the first to write a skeptical story about Enron.

This was back in the days where the company was celebrated as literally the best thing since sliced bread.

So I wrote a skeptical story, but I always think about breaking a story is really uncovering all of the ins and outs of the wrongdoing at a company.

And the Enron story was so complex, I'm not sure anybody could have done that until after the bankruptcy.

And my story really only scratched the surface, but I just got interested in the fact that the company's numbers clearly didn't add up and the story they were telling didn't make sense with what was in their financial filings, that they they legally have to file.

And so there was this big disconnect and I thought it was something really interesting to write about.

>> And for our viewers that are watching that might not know who Enron is.

You wanna explain a little bit about it?

>> Sure, of course.

Enron was a gigantic natural gas and electricity trading company.

And what they did is almost less important now than what they stood for, because in the days previous to Enron, you just didn't have giant American companies going bankrupt.

And Enron was one of the biggest companies in America, it was actually the seventh biggest company based on its revenues.

And it had gleaming headquarters in Downtown, Houston.

It's market cap, its valuation at the peak was $70 billion.

This was a company that was supposed to be too big to fail.

And within the space of about six months, I wrote a skeptical story in the spring of 2001 and by fall 2001 and Enron was bankrupt.

And so it was this incredibly fast fall from grace.

And oddly enough, 20 years later, which it is now, the story actually still resonates because it was a moment I think when America began to lose faith in big business and began to see the dark side of corporate America in a way that we really hadn't previously.

>> And you're a math major, you were in college.

>> Yes.

>> And so when you did that and then you became a journalist, did this story just kinda make sense to investigate the numbers?

>> I had a little pause in between them.

So I went from college to working on Wall Street.

So I did a two year investment banking analyst program, actually I stayed for three years.

So then I quit to become a journalist.

So that by the time I got to "Fortune," where I worked as a journalist, I had spent three years on Wall Street.

So I had learned my way around financial statements.

Without that intermediate step, I'm not sure my peer math major would have done me much good in looking at Enron's numbers.

But coming out of that background, I was able to say, "Nobody's digging into these numbers and they don't add up."

>> That's fascinating.

Because I feel like, like you said, "I'm getting a lot of credit for something," but that is like a big story of our time.

So, when it caught your interest, was anybody else talking about this?

>> No people thought Enron was an it stock, just like Hollywood's latest star, right?

That a company that could do no wrong.

Enron was this highly celebrated company.

So no one was doing the work to say, "But the story doesn't quite make sense."

>> Were you ever scared to open this up?

Because you know, sometimes when you go to places that haven't been or haven't seen the light, sometimes it can be scary.

>> I think it can be so for better or worse, business journalism rarely gets that glamorous, right?

There are certainly scary things you can do in the world of journalism, business journalism is more... You are more afraid you're gonna lose your career, more afraid that you're gonna be ridiculous, that you're gonna have missed the story, that you're going to get something wrong.

But I think in general, it's a good lesson about living in the present and not thinking too much about the future, because I'm sure by the time I was doing my work on Enron, if you had ever told me how ugly it was going to get or how stressful it would be, I might've said, "Hmm, I'm not sure I wanna do that."

But if you get into something because you're passionate about it and interested in it and you don't worry, you just try to work hard at every step of the way.

And you don't worry too much about what the future is going to hold.

I think it's much easier to persevere.

>> So going to today's topic about being relentless, like, did you have to push harder for this story to actually bring it to life?

>> Yeah, I did.

"Fortune Magazine," where I worked at the time, had written a lot of very positive pieces about Enron and they had actually named Enron their most innovative company on their most admired list for the previous seven years, I think.

Enron was very innovative, just not in a way we necessarily wanna see companies being innovative.

But I did have to push.

It was a contrarian story.

So I had to really prove that I was right to be raising these questions.

And then the Enron executives flew up to "Fortune," to sit down with us and try to talk me and my editors out of running the story.

So I think if I hadn't... My editors were extremely supportive of me.

But if I hadn't done my homework and been able to ask the right questions of the Enron executives that showed that the substance wasn't there.

I don't think the story would have run.

>> Well, it's not every day that a journalist gets to interview another journalist.

And do you think that you pride yourself in like work of stories that's really gonna make a difference?

>> I hope so.

I'm a little mixed about that, because I think that you have to be led by your passion and your curiosity, you have to go into a story because you think it's important and interesting and because you wanna figure it out and because it sparks something in you, because if it doesn't, journalism is about being relentless, right?

And it's about making that extra phone call or sending that extra email or reading the last pages of that document that you might be tempted to skip, if you weren't absolutely passionate about the topic.

And I think if your only goal is, "This is gonna be important, other people are gonna notice this."

I don't think that's enough motivation.

I think you have to deeply care.

>> Beautiful.

Well, thank you so much for coming on today.

>> Thank you for having me.

>> Relentlessly pursuing life, after this hero almost lost his.

31 marathons in 31 days, biking over 5,000 miles and even winning a bronze medal in the Paralympics.

All this was completed to write a new story for our veterans.

One that is full of relentless hope, even after trauma.

>> (indistinct) went to Iraq in 2008.

>> And one to Afghanistan in 2010 and my specialty was using explosives.

And then also this route clearance job which was basically just searching for IEDs, trying to find buried IEDs buried in the ground.

And unfortunately on July 22nd of 2010 on that deployment, I was in the process of trying to find an IED.

And you know, this particular one was hidden a little bit too well and I stepped on it.

And that resulted in double above knee amputation of my leg.

>> Whitney: Rob Jones lost his legs that day, but not as life.

And because of that, the scope of his mission was about to change.

>> So I ran 31.

So every day for 31 days consecutively and they weren't sanctioned marathons.

So what I would do is we would park our RV.

I would get out and I would run either back and forth on a trail for 26 miles or loops of a park for 26.2 miles or whatever the case may be.

And then I'd get in the finished, get in the RV and we'd drive to the next city.

And so that's how we created the story.

And then from there also say, I'm doing this and I'm also raising money.

And so people would see the story and they donate.

And with the (indistinct) marathons, we raised 225,000 in, but the bike rider was 125.

So we're at 350,000.

And if I can raise a million over the course of my lifetime, I feel pretty successful.

>> Whitney: His military mentality has stayed with him.

He is fighting for freedom.

However, this time, is freedom of stigmas for our veterans.

>> I was trying to do when I ran the (indistinct) marathons.

And when I rode my bike across the country, I was trying to create a story about a veteran that went overseas and experienced trauma and came back and thrive from it, became stronger from it.

And I didn't really...

I wasn't seeing that in the media, in any form, in the news or TV or movies or anything.

So I wanted to create that story.

And my way of creating that story was by doing the (indistinct) marathons.

And by doing the bike ride.

>> Now it's time to bring you into the conversation.

Let's take a look at this week's, "Words of Whitsdom."

>> I am relentless on trying to make my life better and everything.

I mean, it's hard to get started.

It doesn't necessarily mean you're relentless, but the drive is there.

Once you get it started, it's there.

>> Something I've been really relentless with is trying to, basically trying to approach others more empty handed.

And more open-hearted trusting in their goodwill and generosity.

>> I'm relentlessly trying to take care of myself, eating healthy, working out, staying in shape, so that I can be around for a long, long time.

See, my granddaughter walked down the aisle and all that stuff.

That's what I'm relentless about.

>> Our next guest is a woman, who's dream and relentless spirit changed NFL history.

>> You are what you make of these situations, right?

I could have said, "Oh, well, I'm gonna do the least, because they only pay me a dollar."

Or I could say, "I am determined to be the best in the world, regardless of the budget."

And that's a mentality.

And like heart fuel.

>> Whitney: She didn't let money, size or even the lack of a position stop her.

Dr. Jen Welter also known as the first woman to coach in the NFL is relentless on and off the field.

And for her, this winning mentality started at a young age >> Probably being undersized and underestimated.

Really like my first sport was tennis.

And I thought I was going to be a pro tennis player.

And the highest ranked I got was 50 in the State of Florida, which is pretty darn good, right?

>> Yeah.

>> And yet I went to a coach, who was like supposed to be this next level coach.

You know, bring you to that level.

And he told me because of my size and my bills I was wasting my time that I could never be strong enough to play pro tennis.

So I love that story because I tell kids all the time now, that maybe he was right, I could never have been strong enough to play pro tennis.

I played pro football >> Whitney: And football truly changed her life, from playing to coaching.

She tackled being the first >> I look at the title as being a driving factor for me, because being the first means that the opportunity and the responsibility is to ensure you're not the last and there are so many days.

And so many things that I look at, I'm like, "Oh, I don't know if I'm cut out for that."

And what I push back on myself with is, if you don't have that in you, then the wrong woman was the first female to coach in the NFL, right?

Because you're here because you were meant to be here.

And the thing that drives me in that as I've had, you know, former teammates of mine, like Olivia Griswold, who we played against each other for a long time, Oh, she was one of the best in the game.

And we were also team USA Teammates.

And she said to me, you know, "Well, I'm so glad it was you, because you represent us all so well."

>> Whitney: Her cheer section has grown.

So I asked her, "Are you living the dream?"

Her response was a game changer.

>> No, I'm not living a dream, because this is a dream I wasn't permitted to have.

But the beauty of this is that now all girls can dream football, which means they can start earlier.

They can train the same.

They can be that person in the game and have opportunities that I never did because I didn't get to play until I was 22 years old, right?

And so that was the first thing that really needed to be adjusting, is like now other girls could see themselves on the sidelines and have permission to say, "I wanna be there."

>> Whitney: Dr. Welters relentless pursuit on breaking down barriers, actually built the resilient spirit that she radiates today.

And because of that, her coaching extends to another time, where we must dream past our current situation.

She's helping our next generation navigate this difficult season of COVID-19.

>> I happen to be someone who loves people, right?

Like I call that a coach, call that the doctor and I was doing a lot of listening and just trying to help my friends, was really what I think.

And, you know, I had friends that were, you know.

like Brooke, who became my co-founder.

She was dealing with the kids bouncing off walls and what were they gonna do?

And I was like, "Oh, I can take the boys."

And I started teaching them virtual, you know, workouts, right?

To just thinking where I was gonna be like six weeks, right?

And that's the first book, which was really physical, right?

And so it was literally using critters to get kids better, right?

Animal-based exercises, a combination of giggles and wiggles to like get all the families to move, 'cause everybody's stuck inside and you don't really want them to have to buy a lot.

'Cause we're losing jobs.

I'll give you like a little teaser.

Our fourth book is actually called "The Resilience."

>> And helping others find their relentless resilience, is one amazing goal.

Being relentless can be a good thing, but it can also be dangerous.

Let's meet a doctor who's risking it all to save lives.

Dr. John Kahler is relentless, relentless to save lives.

Even at the risk of losing his own.

He rushes into places most are running away from, war zones.

He joins us now with more.

Welcome to the show.

>> Thank you.

>> You are relentlessly changing the world in so many ways.

I don't know how you put your life on line and go into war zones.

Tell us about what you're doing.

>> Well currently I'm running a program with my organization called MedGlobal, we're running a project in Colombia, at the Venezuela Columbia border.

We went there two years ago.

We've set up a clinic to work with the Venezuelan refugees at (indistinct).

And that's where my energy is spent now.

There and on the Island of Lesbos in Greece, with the Syrian refugees.

>> When you go into places to help people, do you ever think to myself, "I might not come back?"

>> When we were in Aleppo in 2016, as the siege of Aleppo closed down, we were the last Westerners there and we were supposed to stay for a few weeks a little bit into it.

We got wrestled up in the middle of the night and told we better get out, because the one road, Castello road, they call it the road of death.

The siege was about to close that over.

And that was the one time that when we were in the van, hustling out of East Aleppo, that I was a little bit worried.

Other than that, no, not really.

>> And you retired and then started this, aren't you supposed to relax in retirement?

>> Well, retirement is great, I retired to do this.

I'd spent 25, 30 years of my life traveling intermittently, you know, coming home, tapping myself on the back at what a great guy I was and then came Haiti 2010, with the earthquake.

And all of that changed.

>> What did change?

>> Well, I found myself...

I had spent a lot of time in Haiti.

And as you might be aware, Haiti is a mess and has been a mess for many, many years.

The second time I came back, I was in a clinic in summer, with probably 110 degrees out or 200 people in the clinic.

And I was sitting, it was probably... there was a woman with a set of kids, one on each leg.

And for some reason I was just, I raid, I was angry.

I was angry at our government.

I was angry at their government.

Nothing was happening.

I was angry at God and I was sitting there and I had all this righteous anger in me and I looked and this woman had probably been waiting five hours to see me.

She had two kids and she had a look in her eyes such as, "Do you think you might be able to concentrate on me a little bit?"

And I looked and suddenly something washed across me.

And I'm not a particularly religious man, but it's as close to grace as I could ever imagine, because that anger just went away.

>> Wow.

>> And after that, I was able to calm down, I was able to say, "You know what?

I spent a long career in primary pediatrics, loved every single minute of that, never had a problem with it, but maybe it's time to concentrate my efforts on something else."

>> Wow.

>> From there, I was able to do a couple of other things and met a wonderful colleague of mine, Dr. Zohar Solu, talked him into...

When I met him the last pediatrician in Aleppo had been killed.

And I went to him and I had met him, We were in Greece working at refugee camp and I went to him and I said, "Why don't you send me?"

Yeah.

>> Wow.

>> I mean, who better to bear witness?

You know, I don't have any Syrian blood in me.

I'm an old white guy that, you know, I look like Santa Claus.

who's not gonna pay attention to Santa?

>> The Westerner.

>> (indistinct) I mean, who to bear witness.

Now, I'm a pediatrician.

So I might be able to do some good too, but the purpose of it wasn't...

He said, "Oh no, no, no, it's too dangerous."

So I can be a persistent pain sometimes.

So I would call them every couple of days, say, "Come on, come on, let's go.

Send me," you know, this was in 2016 when things were really heating up.

And finally he arranged in for Dr. San Matar, who was an orthopedic doctor in Chicago, himself and me to go.

>> So he let you in?

>> Well, Dr. Solu, has his ways.

We were able to get in... >> Has your family ever gotten mad at you for risking it all, for lives that you don't even know?

>> No.

>> Okay.

>> My family has been unbelievably supportive of me.

They've been nothing but wonderful about it.

My wife worries, not so much about where I'm going to, is that I don't have much of a filter and that I might get into more trouble than I need to where I'm going.

So she's perfectly supportive of it, but worries a little bit more about my behavior.

>> What are your plans for the future, for what you're doing?

>> Well, it's interesting because, Dr. Solu and I set a new organization up called MedGlobal.

We had decided that we had been concentrating on Syria at a time, Syria and Lebanon and Turkey and the islands.

And that the world was big, that there was a lot going on in the world.

So we set up an organization to deal with hoping to help them litigate health care disparities, not just in one area.

My goal or my plans are to stay doing this until I can't anymore.

I'm healthy.

And so I'll do it as long as I can.

>> Before I let you out of here, what would you say to people?

Because it sounds like you are not faced with fear, but for people that are watching, that would say, "Everything he just said is actually full of fear."

What would you tell our viewers, when it comes to fear and how you block that from your mind?

>> Well, I don't block it.

I mean, I am afraid.

Fear is there all the time, but you can't tell people to not be afraid but you can tell them to, even if you are afraid you have to take the next step or else the fear will rule you.

They're always afraid, but if you're one foot in if you just keep stepping one foot in front of the other, you'll get over it.

>> I love that.

One foot in front of the other.

And you are one foot in front of the other, all the way overseas.

>> I hope so.

>> But thank you so much.

You keep relentlessly pursuing life and helping others.

>> Well, thank you so much, I appreciate it.

>> Relentless, a word that reminds you that you can break barriers, push past limits.

And we hope if you get the chance to use this word in your life, you create positive change.

Remember your story matters.

(upbeat music) "The Whitney Reynolds Show," is supported by, Sciton, because results matter.

Leigh Marcus with @ properties, sold on helping our community and closing homes.

O'Connor Law Firm, when it comes to your injuries, we take it personally.

Children's Learning Place, excellence in early childhood education since 1998.

Happy to Meat You, prime, fresh, fast.

Theraderm Clinical Skin Care, committed to developing skin care products designed to restore skin health and promote natural beauty.

Special thanks to Kevin Kelly with Jameson Sotheby's international Realty.

My Buddy's Chicago.

Love Your Melon.

Brendon Studzinski at State Farm.

Fresh Dental, Ella's Bubbles, UFC Wrigleyville, the CryoBar, Bark Busters, Leah Chavie Skincare, Deluxe Cleaning service, STI Moving and Storage.

And by other sponsors.

Go "Beyond the Interview with Whitney Reynolds," and her 52 week guide of inspiration.

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Go to whitneyreynolds.com/store and use code PBS.

For more information on today's program, visit whitneyreynolds.com or follow us on social media, on Twitter @ Whitney Reynolds and on Instagram @ Whitney-_Reynolds.

>> Children: Our Mummy.