Richard Carlson (author)

Richard Carlson (May 16, 1961 – December 13, 2006) was an American author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker, who rose to fame with the success of his book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff... and it’s all Small Stuff (1997), which became one of the fastest-selling books of all time and made publishing history as USA Today's bestselling book for two consecutive years. It also spent over 101 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. It was published in 135 countries and translated into Latvian, Polish, Icelandic, Serbian and 26 other languages. Thereafter, Carlson went on to write 20 books.

Carlson was born and raised in Piedmont, California in East San Francisco Bay Area. He was an avid tennis player. He was the top ranked junior in Northern California in 1979.

He received his bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where he met and married Kristine Anderson (Kris Carlson) in 1981.

Carlson started his career as a psychotherapist and ran a stress management centre. He published his first book in 1985, but became famous with his 10th book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all Small Stuff. While Richard Carlson did not coin the term "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff," he was awarded a trademark for bringing it into American pop culture. The book topped the bestseller lists for two years, sitting in the number one spot on the New York Times list for over 100 weeks. The Don't Sweat series is based on his earlier work presented in "You Can Be Happy, No Matter What: Five Principles to Keep Life in Perspective." People magazine named Richard Carlson as one of that publication's "Most Intriguing People in the World." He was popular on the talk-show circuit. Meanwhile, he also appeared in a Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and It's All Small Stuff TV special, and soon took up writing full-time.

He wrote many books following up on this success, including Slowing Down to the Speed of Life (co-authored with Joe Bailey, 1997), one co-authored by his wife, Don't Sweat The Small Stuff in Love (2000), and What About the Big Stuff (2002).

Carlson died on December 13, 2006, from a pulmonary embolism during a flight from San Francisco to New York, while on a promotion tour for his book Don’t Get Scrooged: How to Thrive in a World Full of Obnoxious, Incompetent, Arrogant and Downright Mean-Spirited People (2006). He was survived by his wife, Kristine Carlson, and their two teenage daughters, Jasmine and Kenna; two sisters, Kathleen Carlson Mowris of Olympic Valley, California and Anna Carlson of La Selva Beach, California; and his parents, Barbara and Don Carlson of Orinda, California.