My story begins with my 56″ projection TV blowing out again. I told myself that the next time this happened, I would refuse to pay the money to have a new board installed and instead would purchase a new TV.

So, I began my search on the Internet for a replacement and, as we might imagine we can get overwhelmed with data when reviewing any nontrivial subject out there (CNET was a good site).

I knew I wanted a box that delivers a good picture that I’m not going to feel I was taken on. However, with terms like LCD, DLP, plasma and LCoS, the old CRT was taking on a new meaning. And, these were just the types of High Definition TVs ~ a pile of additional technical terms followed. So I got some working vocabulary and some brand names and went to Circuit City for help, where I spent 90 minutes with a sales guy and ended up getting a quote for more than double what I was originally expecting to pay!

I trusted myself enough that I knew I couldn’t trust myself or this deal as it stood. I needed to jump into the river and flow with The Universe (try another place) ~ I brought some paddles along (a friend who had some knowledge in the industry). And, then I needed to trust that it was going to work out (shut my eyes and say a prayer as the rapids approached).

I ultimately made five trips to Best Buy and on four of them, I met a guy named Dave. He worked part time yet, I continued running into him. He enjoyed his work, fielded a lot of questions and did not work on commission. He steered me toward the Panasonic and Samsung 50″ plasma sets and in the end I got the Samsung which included a nice TV stand.

I later went back for a DVD player and a home theater system. My friend spent a couple of evenings advising me on my purchase options, asking some detailed technical questions and installing it with me. My boss at work gave me additional tuning advice so that I could get the best picture and the best sound possible. And, with every swipe of my credit card, my wife remained supportive as she knew what I was trying to do.

I finished the last of the tuning a couple of weeks ago and I’m very pleased with the setup. I got my box and don’t believe I was taken in the process ~ however, some things happened that I did not expect. I learned a lot about the new TV technology and the marketplace and I spent many hours in this pursuit. I also underestimated the amount of selfless help that came my way. The Universe wasn’t some big magical ball of light out there ~ to me it was a hunch, a person’s offering of help and a playground to trust and grow in.