When we started out at the Farmer's Market in 1996, a customer asked, "Do you accept checks?"

I thought about it for about a second and said, "Sure!"

My reasoning was this: I'd accept checks until one bounced, then I'd think about what my policy really ought to be.

That was thirteen years ago. Still no bounced checks. Are farmer's market customers great, or what?

All this confirms my policy of "intentional innocence," where I try things and see what happens, rather than fretting about all the things that might go wrong. Of course, sometimes things blow up in my face this way, but usually they don't, and you discover that the people around you have been fretting over nothing.

Don't use this approach when betting the farm, but it works in any situation where you can afford to take it on the chin and write it off as a learning experience.