A number of years ago a wonderful friend and mentor of mine taught me the you/I matrix. It's a great little check of your writing to see how often you referred to yourself rather than the person you are trying to communicate with. Ideally it should be more about the audience.
Over the last few months, I've realized how great of a check this is everywhere. I've started to listen for this when I hear people speak.
I always want to believe the best in everyone. I try to see the light and the possible. It's great until I realize that I've been looking passed values and ways of being that aren't congruent with myself and many of the projects I work on.
You don't actually have to listen too hard to start getting a sense of if someone is driven for their own gain or for the betterment of others and the world around them. The rising tide really does lift all boats and we need to focus our energy on raising up people who are living that.
Being a Force for Good 