Different paths in life

In HK the other day, I hung out with my cousins, the fitness instructor and the immigration officer. I haven't seen them in probably 3 years or so, and its interesting that as time goes along we stay close, despite really never having spent a lot of time together - whenever I'd visit HK, when Benny came to Australia for a couple of months, and when Man-Tik did his tertiary studies in Australia. I guess family sometimes works out to be pretty close, even without much time spent together.
I also visited my friends back there who're doing law and investment banking, but they're pretty much on a similar track to me; put in the hours, get promotions, earn cash, don't have time to spend it, get ever more impressive sounding titles on business cards, lose hair, etc.
It interests me more how my cousins are getting on in life. Benny the fitness instructor has moved out, lives with his girlfriend, and doesn't earn bad coin. He's a happy guy, doesn't save as much as he would like, doesn't really know what he wants to do long-term, but is figuring it all out. He's also a major stoner; pretty much smokes pot every night, talks shit with his mates and laughs whilst playing winning eleven 8, but I think he's much happier than most of the people I know out there who are pursuing their careers. He's not focused on anything, but he doesn't suffer because of it; really a reflection on the kind of guy he is. He's a fun guy to hang out with and I don't judge what he does, and he doesn't comment on how boring I am at times.
Man-Tik the immigration officer is a less adventurous type; he's a civil servant now and probably will be for life. He's not unhappy either - he knows within certain limits what he'll be doing within the immigration service, he'll collect his promotions as he goes along, get his pay rises, get an apartment from the service when he gets married; everything is basically set out for him and gives him a lot of certainty. Its that certainty that makes him a happy guy, he knows what he'll get from life, and he knows that he'll be able to look after his parents.
I'm happy for them both that they're doing well; what they do would most probably not make me happy, as I think I'm a bit too ambitious for that, but it is a reminder that most people don't have the view on life that I do.