I may get flammed for my posting.... but I just could not resist. I think the point that most here are missing, is that there is nothing wrong with being selfish. Selfishness does not mean never helping others, it just means not helping others, at the expense of yourself. I would think that the goal of most peoples lives, including mine, is to gain as much happiness for ourselves as possible. If ER is your goal, then you should feel happy in your persuit of that goal. If anyone has the attitude of "Well if I cannot retire early.... then neither should you", is insane.
Being called selfish seems to be one of those "boogeymen" in our society. And I have seen people do all sorts of mental gymnastics to try to persuade others that ER somehow benefits "society as a whole", or "their fellow citizens", or even, "the common good", because of course they never want to be "selfish".
The fact is that for us to be happy and successful in life, there is a certain amount of "selfishness" that we need to employ. Taking care of yourself and your family the best way that you can, should hardly be considered a "bad" thing. And is it selfish to want to take care of yourself and your family the best way you can? Of course it is selfish! And this is not a bad thing.....