- [Narrator] JeremyCowart struggled in school

unable to focus on his studies.

But in seventh grade,

he found something he excelled in, art.

Since then, Jeremy hasfollowed his creativity,

and in 2014, he was named the

most influentialphotographer on the Internet

by Huffington Post.

In his book I'm Possible, thisaward-winning photographer

shares how he pushedanxiety and fear aside

to discover his talents,

and why he uses his artisticplatform to inspire others.

- Well with me now is thetalented, creative Jeremy Cowart,

thanks for joining us

- Of course.- It's great to have you here.

- It's good to be here, thank you.

- When you were growing up, I mean, today

there are so many peoplewho applaud your work

and recognize that it is so creative

and unique and valuable, but growing up

you really were a child who felt like

you didn't fit in and youdidn't know who you were

or what you were supposed to do,

share a little of that with us.

- Yeah, I just, I didn't make great grades

and I assumed that gradeswere your value as a person,

and so, I didn't thinktoo highly of myself,

I didn't think I would do much in life,

my two words were I can't.

And so, yeah, and even as an adult,

I got fired from my firstjob, I got a D in photography,

nearly failed photography, so yeah,

it was, there were a lot a challenges.

- Your parents, along the way,

while you were saying I can't,

kept speaking, Philippians 4:13 to you,

"I can do all things throughChrist who strengthens me."

I'm sure you were frustrated by that,

but I'm also sure it madean impact on your heart.

- Yeah, it's one of those verses,

as a kid, you hear so muchthat it starts to blend in,

you know, but I think eventually,

I'm okay, my parent believe in me,

they're telling me this verse,

maybe I can start toachieve things, and so,

yeah, over time I really didstart to believe in myself.

- [Female Presenter] So how did the guy

who got a D in photography

finally figure out he had a gift?

(laughing)

- I don't know, I just,I was so intimidated

by all the f-stops and shutter speeds,

all the technical stuff,

but I was good at seeinginto my love for seeing,

led me to finally figureout all the technical stuff

which, as it turns out,is not that challenging.

Which is really the message of the book,

that things we think aretoo hard or too technical,

or too intimidating, arereally not that hard.

- Once you picked up a camera,

and you just started working with it

and you saw that you could recreate

what you saw with your eye,

did that lead you to wanting to know more

about the options and thethings that you can do with it?

- Oh, for sure, I always saythe more you learn technically,

the more you can achieve creatively.

So I started to figure out, oh,

that if I actually startedto read the manuals

that come with all the gear,

that'll teach me how to achieve my ideas.

- You had to pitch an idea along the way

to take pictures of people in need.

What was it that youwanted to convey with that?

- Yeah, I wanted to givethe photo shoot experience

with hair and makeup andwardrobe and catering

to the homeless, to the peoplethat have never experienced

a nice portrait of themselves.

So we did it in Nashville first, in 2008,

and then the next year itbecame a global movement,

where we announced them onsocial media around the world,

and so, that's the idea,just find people in need,

take their pictures and give them away,

give the photos to them.

- That's happened, that national acclaim,

international acclaim, hashappened to you multiple times,

did you have any idea when you started

taking photos of people whowere in crisis situations,

or extreme poverty, that theresponse would be what it was?

- No, I really didn't, I don't go into it

thinking about the end result,

in terms of publicity or marketing,

I just go do the project andfollow my heart, you know,

follow those whispersthat God gives me and, uh,

and just hope for thebest, and it seems like

each time I lean into that,like, incredible things happen,

both for me, for the people involved,

it's always a good, a good outcome.

- That happened in Haiti,after the earthquake,

did you just feel like; I just have to go

see this and show people,or what lead you there?

- Yeah, I was just watchingTV, and watching the news

and just seeing they weren't telling

the stories of the people,they were just showing

this many people died, thismany buildings fell down,

I was like; well, howare the people feeling?

So I get off the couch, and use twitter

to find a place to stay in Haiti,

and, you know, spend a couple weeks there,

telling the stories of the people,

which, that was the earlydays of social media,

and that really took off.

- Half of what you writeabout in here, I think,

is based around what you just said,

"I got up off the couch."

(laughing)

I mean, a lot of us think those things

but you got up and went,and you didn't question

the validity of the choice, you just went.

Let's talk a little bitabout how God has used,

laying forgiveness on your heart for that,

you had, like, a reconciliation project

that was really powerful, share that.

- Yeah I, erm, a fan let that my friend

Laura Water Simpson wasdoing a project in Rwanda,

telling the stories of the people

who had forgiven each other for murder,

during the '94 Rwandan Genocide,

and so, I was like, Ineed to go there with you

and tell the stories through photographs.

And so, we did that, andspent a few weeks there,

you know, photographing them together,

like this person murderedthis person's family,

they've now reconciled andthey're working together

to rebuild theircommunities, which is just

extraordinary- [Female Presenter] Powerful.

- [Jeremy] Here, in America,we can't forgive eachother

for stealing a parkingspot, (laughing) you know,

but over there, they're forgiving for...

- [Female Presenter] Weusually shoot! (laughing)

- Yeah, yeah, much worse.- Sadly.

You also went to Uganda,and had an opportunity

to shoot pictures of children

who had been child soldiers,

I mean, these were kids whohave been forced to kill people,

what did you experience there,

and what did you catch with your lens.

- Yeah, well as an artist,I heard about this project,

my friends at Excel International,

they do art therapy withformer child soldiers

and they use the art to go through

the healing process with these kids,

where they're able to paintthe pains of their past

and the dreams of their future,

and it really is apart oftheir therapeutic process,

and so, I just went and acted as a,

kind of a mentor, through that.

- I want you to share your hotel projects,

because it's your latest, it's pretty big

(laughing)

- It is, big.- Talk about that!

- God gave me an idea in 2012,

to build a global hotel chain.

I was like; that one's a little too big

- [Female Presenter] Excuse me God?

- The other projectsI can jump right into,

so I've spent three yearsof fear of that idea,

but then, in 2015, my business partner

and I decided to start walking towards it,

now we're running and we'reactually building this,

first hotel in Nashville Tennessee.

- And what is it for,tell me what the purpose

of the hotel is.- So yeah,

everything in thebuilding will be connected

to causes and non-profits, so,

every room will sponsor achild and tell their story,

the Internet few will fightagainst human trafficking,

their soaps and shampoos will come

from Thistle Farms.- [Female Presenter] Wow!

- There'll be a charitywater well in the lobby,

like, everything will have a cause

or a non-profit associated.

- Wonderful, I think people are so hungry

to make a difference in the world today,

all the clamor, and the angst,

and the frustration andanger around us is so noisy,

that sometimes, you canhave that in your heart,

but you don't ever get there, you know,

you've written notimpossible, but I'm Possible,

what's the takeawaymessage you want people

to have from this?

- It's just been my life long realization,

all those things that I was afraid of,

photography, cameras, you know, hotels,

like, I just realized,like, all those things

that I thought werescary are not that scary,

and if I can overcome all this stuff,

then surely anybody can, and so,

that's what I want people to know.

- [Female Presenter] Where does one start?

- [Jeremy] Just jumping...- [Female Presenter] Get up

off the couch! (laughing)

- Yeah, jumping into the first idea,

and Jumping Into Fear, the subtitle,

you gotta go for it.

- Yeah, I love thesubtitle, Jumping Into Fear

and Discovering a Life of Purpose.

The book is wonderful, it's encouraging,

it's inspiring, it is available

wherever books that are sold, and so,

go out and get one foryou, and then pass it on

to a friend, or better yet,get your friend to buy one!

Jeremy, thank you

for being with us- Thank you for having me.

- [Female Presenter] Great tohave you here, very inspiring.