Rating: 
Summary: It's all small stuff!
Review: This is a easy book to read and enjoyed it so much I couldn't put it down! It's full of little stories from his own life that gives you inspiration, and the title says it all! I loved it!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Sweat The Small Stuff and it's all small stuff
Review: Gorvidal almong others simply said "We are living in a society determined by corporate values and the two major parties are both right wings of Corporate." As a teacher who is establishing rules in a class room to promote a "vision" of community, learning more English, and being successful I am pitted against general corporate values that daily teach the parents who then teach their children to be strategic, utilitarian, fearful,angry, careless with others use drugs and to place things first and people second. The sociopathic behaviors that result from this corporate survival daily training show obviously in family and community life on a grand scale as deadly, a threat to life, and good mental health if not paying your PGE bill. Essentially we are in the middle of creating a culture akin to a Dachau of desperation. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff fails to provide a personal and community vision that people need to feel when the want to feel grounded and be successful as they look at the effect they have on others and change direction and make distinctions. We do not know who is on the team today...at all. Richard Carlson lives in Orinda a very expensive community akin to Sausalito, Ca (1 Million dollar homes). He is writing what the visionless people think...they need...chatter in place of better self-management built around a personal and community vision. His book is useless chatter telling people to essentially peacefully compromise their expectations so they can have "peace of mind and be more comfortable". Without a vision it cannot work. One reviewer suggested you had to be a "dead fish" to get value out of his book. I agree. He does promote mindless liberal mental illness which is already turning this country into a cesspool of unfocused, uncooperative, visionless, mentally ill, drug addicted adolescents and adults. The very high California criminal arrest records will not be reduced by this book by providing an alternative vision and fundamentals that lead to anything but more frustration. His Holiness the Dali Lama isn't living in Tibet and his people are being murdered by the Chinese because they lived by ideas suggested in this book of peace and denial. Here's why. Steven Covey offers the reverse. He tells us point blank that we need to make deposits into people's emotional bankaccounts. We need to be guided by a personal mission statement. He helps the reader write a vision for their life and live by rules that make family and commmunity life possible. If we are so fortunate to work with others who demonstrate self management substance and character in a community we may work productively and enthusiastically, achieve our visions through the combined efforts of others. Carlson forgets that more than half the adult population is on Prozac (pain killer) and suffers from poor mental health. Essentially, most poorly parented adults have attachment issues and are not good for kids and certainly unfit as a given arrange more than a 15 month marriage sort of like a swimming pool party they jump into and out of into divorce while the kids are forever more treated like furniture. We can prove this daily in whatever context you choose. The real question is not to numb out with "Don't Sweat It" but to exercise leadership and develop one's moral and useful habits as part of a paradigm for personal behavior and self-management that is life giving and is shareable. We are the gardeners of our garden. Our choice is "weeds or roses" if we have half a wit. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff is the work of a con artist to sell books. You could destroy a culture with the paradyms of denial he suggests that we use to achieve great comfort. Americans are so addicted to comfort, denial, and retail therapy it is killing them. We now have a pain-avoidant fat farm not a population. 76% of adults are overweight and could stay that way if they read this damn book. What a crock.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple Steps to Help alleviate STRESS tremedously
Review: You only need to read the table of contents of this book & you'll feel better already. I have done so prior to purchasing the book & was immediately intrigued. Wonderful book for those who don't have the time to read. I recommend it URGENTLY!!!
Rating:
Summary: If You're Dumber Than a Fish...
Review: A colleague raved about this book so much that I read it merely out of curiosity. I no longer speak to that colleague.If you're dumber than a fish, this book is for you. If you can't handle sentences with more than five words in them, you'll love it. If you consider "STOP" signs to be intellectual, this title will entrall you. There is more depth and intelligence in "The Cat in the Hat" than in this ...piece ...! So if you actually plan to read it, get a paper bag. Either wrap the paper bag around the book so nobody knows what ...you like to read, or put the bag over your head so nobody knows who ...thinks this is worth his/her time!
Rating:
Summary: Required reading for angry aggressors and cherubic creatures
Review: In the 1950s two American scientists studying coronary-prone personalities defined what they called Type A and Type B personalities; in the 1980s the study of cancer-prone personalities yielded an additional Type C. Extreme Type A personalities are characterized by a free-floating hostility, aggressiveness, competitiveness, a constant sense of time-urgency, impatience and a constant striving for ill-defined goals. Just think of a choleric person you know. Extreme Type C personalities, on the other hand, suppress strong emotions, comply with the wishes of others, lack assertiveness, avoid conflict and behavior that might offend others, they obey conventional norms of behavior and maintain an appearance of niceness; stoicism and self-sacrifice appeal to them, their approach to life is outwardly calm and unemotional, and they have a tendency to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. Richard Carlson has something to tell both of these types. His message is: become more sanguine, more forgiving and accepting of yourself, more laid-back, unaggressive, and easy-going; be the driver, not the driven; in short, become more like a typical Type B personality. Richard Carlson's 100 suggestions how to slow down to the speed of life (incidentally, the title of another of his books) and how to focus on what is important are valuable reminders and great common-sense advice sprinkled with small bits of Eastern wisdom. Carlson does not push any theories or New Age stuff at the reader; he simply says, here are some things you might try and see if they work. If they do, practice them. Practice makes the master. To give an example of a typical suggestion by Carlson: if you face an angry, aggressive person, imagine the person as a tiny infant and as a 100-year old adult; it will give you some needed perspective and compassion. That's true. When I underwent military training, the recommendation was that whenever the drill-sergeant yelled at me, I should picture him naked instead of resorting to some typical Type A or Type C behavior. It worked quite well. The yelling usually stopped with the comment "get that smirk off your face".
Rating: 
Summary: What about the "big stuff"?
Review: For the most part I enjoyed reading Richard Carlson's book. I've always thought that sweating the small stuff is a major problem in life and that putting things in perspective is an important element in being happy. It was gratifying to have some of these feelings reinforced. Many of his exercises were actually already part of my way of life, but there were also many new ideas that were interesting and helpful. The main problem I had with this book was that it was too one-sided. Carlson's overall message is suitable for those folks firmly entrenched in the upper-middle class. But for those of us who are still down there with the masses, struggling to make ends meet, Carlson's book is a little too laid-back. What do you do for instance when your're faced with the dilemma of having to work longer hours so you can put your children through a great college (which they deserve to go to), but because of those long hours you have no time to be with your children in the first place? What do you do when a colleague at work or a neighbor is constantly overstepping his teritory and even though it's not that big a deal, it's really beginning to get you down. These are tough problems- "big stuff" -that involve making tough decisions. Putting these problems in perspective is definitely helpful, but being laid back and accepting is not necessarily the way to go. By the way, another exercise could have been added to the book. How about - "Lose your temper at least once a month". That at least will help you get out some of the frustration of having to take out the trash everyday!
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Summary: A reminder of what's really important in life
Review: One of the most important books I have ever read. Its commons sense wisdom is extremely comforting and the philosophy of life that this wisdome comes from is very empowering. After reading "Don't sweat the small staff... " I bought every single one of Richard Carlson's books (my favorite ones were "You Can Feel Good Again : Common-Sense Therapy for Releasing Depression" and Changing Your Life" , "Shortcut through therapy" and "You can be happy no matter what".) I was not depressed but I was trying to stop smoking. This was my nineth try. His prospective helped me immensely. I truely don't know if I could have done it without the books. To this day I often pick one up and start reading some of my favorite parts.
Rating:
Summary: A Life Changer !
Review: This book changed how I view life! Richard Carlson's way of gently reminding me of the importance of a softer approach to life has added years to my life and saved me countless wasted hours of stress. Whenever I feel as if my life is becoming overly stressful or my priorities are out of line, I read one of the chapters in this book and inevitably I am amazed at how I read something newly and uniquely applicable. This book was a gift in my life.
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Summary: Filled with helpful advice!
Review: This is a fantastic book that is filled with advice on how to live a more rewarding and fulfilling life. While little of the advice is new, it is extremely helpful and serves as a reminder to not let little annoyances and inconveniences get in the way of life. Richard Carlson does an excellent job of presenting the material in a way that's fun and informative at the same time. This book is packed full of strategies that any and everyone can use anytime, anywhere. Some of the strategies included are setting aside quiet time each day, learning to look at problems as potential teachers, ignoring negative thoughts and many more useful tips! This book can be read cover to cover or used as a reference manual when life becomes too overwhelming. By reading these effective strategies, one can almost feel their blood pressure dropping. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Philosophy of Small Stuff
Review: I have always had a philosophy in life, and I've had a difficult time in describing how I want to live my life. THIS BOOK IS IT!! Finally a way to show the people I care about in life. "to Be like Mike" well in this case "Charlie" Thank you for a wonderful book Charles Harvey
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