SIMPLE YET PROFOUND.

Last night, I watched the AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Sean Connery.

Sir Sean has always been one of my favorite actors, so it was not only nice to see him honored, but also interesting to learn more about his background. Needless to say, his body of work is outstanding. But what really impressed me was the speech he gave when he accepted his award.

During that speech, Connery said something very important---and I think perhaps surprising to many in the audience. He said that although it had taken him more than seventy years to realize it, his big break in life had actually come when he was just five years old.

That was when he had learned how to read.

He went on to explain that it was that simple yet that profound, that if not for books, plays, and scripts, he wouldn't be where he is today.

Like many of his generation, Connery left school when he was only thirteen, so had no formal education. But still, he had the ability to read all those books, plays, and scripts that opened so many doors for him and helped to establish his highly successful career as an actor.

Personally, I believe the ability to read is the most important skill a person can possess. Being able to read is a key that unlocks a vast treasure chest of time, knowledge, and opportunity. It can take us back through the ages of history or enable us to stand on the horizon of the future.

Sadly, however, there are still millions of people who are functionally illiterate or who cannot read at all.

According to the most recent National Assessment of Adult Literacy, approximately 63 million people in the U.S. alone have only basic reading skills, and another 30 million people have reading skills at the below-basic level. Fifty-five percent of adults in the latter category did not graduate from high school, and although those adults who read at the below-basic level were fewer in number in 2003 than in 1992, those adults who read at the proficient level were also fewer in number in 2003 than in 1992.

You can help change all that by donating money and/or time to any of the fine literacy programs that exist all over the world---or just as Connery's parents did: by ensuring that your own child learns how to read.

In the words of Connery: It's that simple yet that profound.

Congratulations on your well-deserved AFI Life Achievement Award, Sir Sean!