Brandon Farbstein

people often ask me “what is the right term to call you?” most of the time they are taken aback when I reply “Brandon.” while I am someone who happens to have dwarfism, I am Brandon first and foremost. we can get so caught up in our own heads trying to figure out the proper terminology. but truthfully we need to see each other as human beings before labels get in the way. remember, your identity is not solely defined by any condition, life circumstance, or title. isn’t hearing your name one of the most powerful sounds ever? 🗣 #inclusion #empowerment #keynotespeaker #brandonfarbstein

I AM SO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE MY BRAND NEW CHILDREN’S BOOK: A Kids Book About Self-Love! (Preorders are live - link in bio) 📚⁣ ⁣ Imagine, if as kids, we were taught to love and accept who we are…as we are. To celebrate our differences and realize our uniqueness is our superpower.⁣ ⁣ When you look in the mirror, what do you see? So many of us focus on our flaws and what we lack rather than see the greatness within ourselves.⁣ ⁣ That’s why I decided to write A Kids Book About Self-Love. Thinking back to my childhood, this book and its incredibly impactful message to love yourself first would have given me a sense of confidence - especially during some of my most challenging years. I am excited for kids to learn the magic of looking inward rather than not feeling like they are enough.⁣ ⁣ My book joins an incredible list of titles from publisher @akidsbookabout bringing powerful conversations to kids about topics like racism, depression, bullying, belonging, and so much more. Oprah named the A Kids Book About series as one of her favorite things last year ✨⁣ ⁣ I’m immensely proud to be sharing this book with the world, and I know that 8 year old me (pictured here) would be too.❣️⁣ ⁣ Preorders are live at the link in my bio! Your support would mean the world to me - but more importantly, I hope this message reaches the kids in your life and all those who support them. 🙂 ⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ #selflove #elevateempathy #parenting #education #mindset #disabilityawareness #brandonfarbstein #mentalhealth #acceptance #inclusion #akidsbookabout

life lately 😁 grateful for amazing views, great food, and a lot of reasons to smile

Eleven years ago, a woman named Hayley started a conversation with me that changed the trajectory of my life. She saw something in me that I didn’t know was there as a 15 year old. That interaction led me to share my story for the first time just a few months later on that infamous red circle. And I had no idea what I was starting with that TEDx talk. What I did know was what it had cost to get to that moment. There were times I wasn’t sure I would make it to 15, let alone stand on a stage and open up to a room full of strangers. The years leading up to that moment were the hardest of my life. And standing up there in front of 2,000 strangers, I somehow felt right at home. Since then I’ve traveled the world speaking in rooms I could have never imagined. Universities, Fortune 500 companies, world leaders, sometimes to over 10,000 people at once. For a long time I thought the work was simple. Show up. Say the right thing. What I didn’t say out loud is that for years I was standing on those stages talking about self-love I hadn’t found yet. Telling thousands of people they belonged before I fully believed I did. I was giving people something I was still searching for myself. And the strange thing is, somewhere in the giving, I started to find it. The story was never the point. The point is what it makes possible in someone else. The thing they have been carrying alone. The feeling they thought only they had. That’s what a story does when it’s honest. It doesn’t change people because of what happened in it. It changes people because somewhere inside it they find something that was already theirs. A story is not the destination. It’s the door. Your story is not the most important thing you have to offer. What it makes possible in someone else is. Thank you Hayley for seeing me before I could see myself - I am forever grateful to you ❤️

what a blessing to watch my sister get married to the love of her life 🤍 to know she is so deeply cared for, so wholeheartedly loved, and so fully seen for all that she is brings me a peace i cannot quite put into words as her brother. a special shoutout to my parents for orchestrating such a beautiful celebration. every detail was so thoughtful, and the entire evening felt rooted in love. it was a night my family will cherish forever. mazel tov @brookefarbstein & @mattliebs11 ! 🥂 🐆♾️✡️

for the longest time, i wanted to be invisible. when you’re 3’9”, visibility isn’t something you choose. it’s assigned. you can spend your life trying to manage people’s reactions, or you can decide what your visibility is for. then somewhere along the way, something shifted. i realized: if i’m going to be this visible anyway, i might as well do something with it. so i stopped trying to disappear and built a life around being impossible to ignore. i started speaking. writing. advocating. i passed laws as a teenager. gave a TEDx talk at 15. wrote books. now i speak all around the world about belonging, resilience, and what it actually takes to see people, not just look at them. the irony isn’t lost on me. the thing i once wanted to escape became the foundation of everything i do. here’s what i’ve learned from living in that tension: there’s a difference between being visible and being seen. between being looked at and being known. between being in the room and actually belonging there. i just happened to learn that difference early…and painfully. so now i get to teach it. because the truth is, we’re all trying to be truly seen. not just noticed. not just tolerated. actually known. being seen changes everything. and we all have the power to see those around us everyday. 🤟🏻

this year put me in places my younger self would not believe. it also tested what i’m made of. i found myself in rooms with presidents and world leaders. on stages in front of thousands. watching a children’s book i wrote years ago be republished around the world through one of the biggest publishing houses. i’m truly grateful for the access. and i’m conscious of it. i’ve spent my whole life being underestimated. so when doors open, i don’t walk through them casually. i know what it costs to be taken seriously when the world didn’t expect you to be in the room in the first place. i also know what visibility can do to a person. it can make you feel like you’re being looked at but not met. like you’re everywhere and still alone in it. i’ve learned that being visible isn’t the same as being seen. this year, i had to get honest about that, and decide i’m not willing to trade my wholeness for anyone’s comfort. for some people, seeing me in those spaces matters. not as inspiration. not as a headline. just as representation. as proof that you don’t have to dim your differences to belong. this year was about how i stood where i stood. how i carried myself. what i refused to trade away to be accepted. i’m ending the year steadier than i began it. more deliberate with my voice, my energy, and the rooms i choose to shape once i’m inside them. to everyone who’s been part of this year in ways seen and unseen, thank you 🧡

a couple weeks ago, i was recognized in a way i never expected. @birthrightisrael_foundation honored 25 alumni out of nearly a million who have gone through the program over 25 years, and i’m incredibly grateful to be one of them. but what stayed with me that night wasn’t the recognition. it was the reminder of what can happen when you finally feel like you belong. i thought about the version of me who went on my birthright trip two years ago, still searching for identity, connection, and a deeper sense of place in the world, and how that experience opened something in me i didn’t realize needed opening. it gave me community. it gave me clarity. and it gave me the courage to use my voice in ways i hadn’t before. because when you feel seen, you start showing up differently. and when you show up differently, you create impact you never imagined. to be recognized for that, and to stand alongside so many extraordinary alumni creating meaningful impact around the world, meant more than i can put into words. i’m humbled. i’m thankful. and i’m proud to be part of this 25-year story that is still shaping me in ways i am discovering. thank you @birthrightisrael for this profound honor and for giving me an experience that continues to expand how i see myself and the world. 🤍

being back in new york reminded me how much gets lost when you’re moving just to keep up. i’ve done that before - filled the calendar, chased the energy, mistook being busy for being fulfilled. this time, i gave myself permission to move differently. slower. i protected my time. chose intention over momentum. left space for real conversations. stayed grounded in moments that actually meant something - including meals that reminded me how hospitality can be its own kind of presence. and it changed everything. clarity showed up - not in some loud breakthrough, but in the quiet: walking the city without a plan. choosing presence over performance. especially in the city that never sleeps, that choice meant something. not everything has to move fast to move you. 💭

soft launch of my modeling era 🥃 @kilianparis

Some journeys stay with you long after you return. 🗺️ Sailing through French Polynesia with @varietycruises wasn’t about checking places off a list - it was about connection, culture, and perspective. Grateful to have experienced this journey in partnership with @varietycruises 🏝️ #hosted #varietycruises #travel #frenchpolynesia #borabora

today i turn 26. at 8, i prayed to be normal. at 11, i didn’t see a way forward. at 15, i found my voice. at 18, i helped turn my story into laws. at 22, i was still looking for where I fit. at 26, i know this: you don’t find your place by fitting in. you create it by showing up as you are. immeasurably grateful for the unwavering love and support that has gotten me here. 🧡