Early Retirement(Remorse & Regret)

Has anyone tried to get an early retirement instead of the usual age of 60?

My friend's dad, while having a son at my age, was already past the retirement age. He once told me that I should do whatever it takes to retire before the age of 50.

He told me working life was miserable past the age of 50-60. Because if you are a person with dreams and goals, you'll start regretting how indecisive you've been, how stupid you've been to be afraid of that little risk to pursue your dreams and passion.
He said he was often daydreaming about the lifestyle he would've had if he had pursued his dream since young, he would've lived in a mansion, driven the car of his dreams, gone on vacations that he wouldn't have to worry about the trip expense like he is doing now(He is quite a penny pitcher now even on vacations).

He went on to add on that even though he retired with a significant sum of money(It isn't overboard to say that he is a mini rich guy), he didn't have the strength to even go on vacation now because of the illness and backache accumulated throughout working for so long. Even with the money he had, his life now is actually quite pointless. All he is doing is walking around the house while listening to classical music, watching the television, doing some gardening whenever his backache got a little bit better, collecting and reading some books, and going to the hospital when his illness acts up.

What actually surprised me was that, as he was sharing his personal experience, he was tearing up all the time. I could even see from his expression that he was truly feeling remorse and regret from the deep abyss of his heart, he was truly pouring out to me. He was sincerely advising me to not live my life thru regret. He told me how important it is to try as hard as possible to retire early, that I must either pursue my dreams and make them possible or, I must accumulate as many assets as I could to be able to retire earlier.

In truth, nowadays there are a lot of people realizing these facts now and have been trying to get themselves out of the rat race in order to change their lives, it may not be easy, but the reward of being able to flip over your life is worth the risk and perseverance, isn't it?

Live for yourself and your family, don't live to help fulfil others dreams.