Lionel Richie shares brutal truth about fame: 'Don't look at me'

If you are chasing fame, Lionel Richie has one simple question: do you even like people?

The music legend got refreshingly honest on the Artist Friendly with Joel Madden, sitting down with the host to talk about success – and the reality check that comes with it.

“I always say to people: what comes with success are sacrifices,” Richie said.

Top of that list? Privacy. And patience.

“I hope you like people,” he added. “Because if you don't like people… you spend the first half of your career going, 'Look at me, look at me, look at me…' And then you finally get famous. 'Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me.' ”

Translation: you cannot have fame without… well, people.

“Oh, you want to be famous and rich without the people? It doesn't work like that. You have to be able to engage.”

Richie’s perspective is not theory – it is personal.

“You know what it is? I was invisible once,” he said. “For me to ignore them, would be the worst.”

That’s why he makes time for everyone – not just fans, but crew members, staff, anyone in the room.

“It takes you five seconds less to say: ‘Hey, thanks, man,’ or ‘How you doing?’ That's it.”

And if you don’t? Word spreads.

“You know what travels fast? That guy was a freaking d--k.”

Richie summed it up with a metaphor that’s already going viral: “When you plant f--k you seeds, you get f--k you flowers.”