I make mistakes. I made one several years ago that I regret. I invested some money in a company. It was an upstart company with a really good idea. I invested time trying to make the company work. I offered creative ideas for the product. I tried to network to help find potential partners.

But, the good idea died. Not for lack of wisdom but for lack of execution.

When I think about that experience, I know that I didn’t intend to make a mistake. I considered all the issues I could think of and decided that this was a good use of my resources of time and money. I wanted to make a good decision and I believed that I had.

The problem was, it didn’t turn out well. Factors beyond my control had more influence than I thought they would. The decision to publish a product just as the digital world was emerging to forever change the world of information sharing turned out to not be a good decision.

Most people I know don’t make mistakes intentionally. Most people I know try to take into account the multiple factors that are at play in any situation and then decide to do what they think is best. Most of the time the decisions are not clear cut. Many times the choices aren’t between good and bad, but between better and worse or between good and good.

So, as I reflect on my mistake on my investment, I discover grace inside myself for myself. I would like to undo some things and re-do some things. I cannot. But, I know that I tried to not make the mistake that the decision turned out to be.

And if I can find grace for myself, maybe I can have grace for others who made mistakes. At least I can consider that they didn’t intentionally decide to do something that didn’t work out as well as they had hoped.