Carpentry and Woodworking - Lightening stained wood

I stained some wood for my new project and it came out too dark, is there any way to lighten it up? I know I like the color because I've used it on other projects I just put it on too heavy for too long this time. I was thinking maybe some steel wool or very fine grit sandpaper would take just the top layers that are the darkest off so I could take it down to a point where I'm happy with the color but really have no idea, any help would be appreciated.
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Sorry, but your only option is to strip it and start over.

Bummer, how do you strip stain? Just sand all the way through or is there a product that actually pulls the stain color back out of the wood? If I have to start over I'll probably do a different color, the color I picked is almost a cherry red but the rest of the trim in the house is fairly light I just like the look of cherry.

If you haven't applied any poly/sealer yet, you might be able to lighten it some by scrubbing it with steel wool and paint thinner. Strippers aren't as effective with stain as they are with paint/poly but it may help some. It will require sanding to get the wood back to where it will accept new stain.