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

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 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."

[7] 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).

His parents, founders of the charitable organization the ARK Foundation which was dedicated to promoting world peace, passed away after Dr. Carlson's death.