I get along very well with the cast of '30 Rock.' I guess I

Sherri Shepherd, with honesty that shines like laughter breaking through sorrow, once declared: “I get along very well with the cast of 30 Rock. I guess I bring a certain quirkiness to the show as well. I’m just thankful they keep asking me. I didn’t think I was going to be asked back so every time they say, ‘We want you back,’ I’m screaming. I’m jumping up and down and screaming.” In these words we hear the voice of humility wrapped in joy, the cry of one who knows that opportunity is never promised, and who treasures each invitation as if it were the first.

The origin of this gratitude lies in Shepherd’s own journey through entertainment. The world of television is fickle, with roles that come and go like the tide, and actors who are often discarded as quickly as they are embraced. Shepherd’s presence on 30 Rock was not born of entitlement, but of chance and persistence. To her, each invitation to return was not a formality but a miracle, a sign that her presence, her quirkiness, was valued. That she responded not with pride but with childlike joy reveals the wisdom of one who never forgets the fragility of fortune.

The ancients would have called this spirit eudaimonia—a joy rooted not in wealth or permanence, but in the alignment of soul and circumstance. To be invited back, to be wanted, is to be affirmed by one’s peers and by the world. Shepherd did not take this for granted. Her thankfulness echoes the ancient teaching that each day’s blessing must be received as a gift anew, not as a possession earned. The wise do not expect the feast; they rejoice when it is laid before them.

History offers us a parallel in the story of Diogenes the Cynic. Though he lived in poverty, he found joy in the smallest provisions, declaring that freedom was found not in abundance but in gratitude. So too with Shepherd—each time the call came to return to 30 Rock, she leapt not as though it were owed to her, but as though it were an unexpected feast laid at her table. The humility of this response is the essence of wisdom, for it guards the heart from arrogance and keeps joy alive even in repetition.

Her words also speak to the value of uniqueness. She said, “I guess I bring a certain quirkiness to the show as well.” This quirkiness, which might once have been dismissed by others, became her contribution, her signature, the very thing that made her memorable. It is a reminder that what sets us apart, even what seems odd, can be the very gift the world needs. Shepherd’s gratitude is doubled by the recognition that she was not only included but celebrated for who she truly was.

The lesson here is profound: never dismiss the worth of your individuality, and never take for granted the doors that open for you. Each opportunity is a gift, and each acceptance is an honor. The world is filled with those who expect to be asked, who assume they will always be wanted, and so they lose the joy of gratitude. But those who, like Shepherd, see every invitation as a blessing will carry a joy that cannot be diminished by rejection or obscurity.

Practical action flows easily. When opportunities come your way, whether grand or small, meet them with gratitude, not entitlement. Celebrate them, even if they seem ordinary, for they may not come again. Recognize the value of your quirks, your uniqueness, and know that what you bring to the table may be the very spark others are seeking. And above all, do not be ashamed to rejoice openly, to “jump up and down and scream,” for joy shared is joy multiplied.

Thus, Sherri Shepherd’s words endure as a teaching: to be thankful for every invitation, to embrace one’s quirkiness with pride, and to respond to opportunity not with presumption but with wonder. For the truest wealth is not in how many times we are called, but in how deeply we treasure each call that comes.