To me, my biggest fear is getting a big head, and that is when I get the hammer. Because it’s very easy in this game to believe you’re something special.

Richards frames fame as a psychological hazard: the real danger is not external scandal but internal inflation—believing one’s own myth. “Getting a big head” evokes the ego that celebrity culture constantly rewards, while “get the hammer” suggests an inevitable corrective—whether through public backlash, personal collapse, or the hard discipline of bandmates, work, and time. The quote reflects a veteran performer’s suspicion of self-importance and his preference for humility as a survival strategy. In a broader sense, it warns that success can distort self-perception, and that maintaining perspective is essential to longevity in any competitive, status-driven field.