In 1928, Alexander Fleming returned from vacation to find a mess on his workbench.

One of his petri dishes—left uncovered and exposed—had grown a strange mold. But instead of tossing it like the others, he paused. The bacteria surrounding the mold had disappeared.

Most people would’ve understandably tossed it without a second thought. But Fleming didn’t dismiss the unexpected. He studied it.

That mold turned out to be Penicillium notatum—and what it was doing was killing bacteria. That small accident became one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in history: the discovery of penicillin.

It didn’t come from a perfectly planned experiment. It came from a moment most of us would’ve called a mistake.

In business—and in life—we spend a lot of time cleaning up, moving on, and trying to stay on schedule. But not every disruption is a disaster—some are opportunities in disguise. Sometimes, buried in the mess is something that works better than what we had planned.

Louis Pasteur once said the greatest discoveries are often made by accident—but only by those who are looking.

Today’s “Peace of Wisdom” can be found when we remember that some breakthroughs only happen when we’re willing to look twice.