That's a false dichotomy. Is there no happy medium between those two extremes?
For me, the key to my career was balance. I worked hard but still had time to spend with my family. I retired from my full-time gig at the first moment of eligibility and I have no regrets at all. (My wife and I both work part-time from home now. We don't make a ton of money at it, but it supplements the retirement income.) We'd have more money if I'd kept working full-time, but we're still doing okay. We can afford vacations without worrying about how much we're spending (within reason), and we can splurge on a nice dinner out when we feel like it.