Being able to retire at the middle of the career sounds like the opposite of that.
1. A lot of people who focus on their financial ability to retire early get so obsessed about the feelings of financial security that comes from that level of income that they are unable to give it up even when they probably could retire.
The parent commenter says, "total freedom to do whatever I want" but there is no level of wealth that gives you "total freedom". No matter what, there is always a potential calamity of sufficient power to knock you down. But the more you lock yourself into the mindset of "I just need to have enough money to prepare for anything" the less you are able to gain the resilience needed to actually be happy now.
2. I think you're equating "money" with "somewhere to go". It's certainly true that wealth gives you options. But if the goal is to ultimately feel satisfied with your life, then having many things you can afford to buy none of which make you happy can put you exactly in the position where you have "nowhere to go".
The time you spend focusing on earning money is time not spent figuring out what choices are actually deeply rewarding to you. And knowing the answer to the latter is critical if you want to know where to go.