Our plans can always get derailed no matter how well we have researched and followed through. Some things are out of our control. Especially in the past few years through our roller coaster economy many people are faced with the unexpected.  Retirement plans have been totally disrupted for a huge section of the population.

Many have found their retirement savings disappearing before their eyes and a large number of workers have been forced into retirement before they are ready. When you think that you have things figured out to be suddenly faced with the prospect of being out of work and without income can cause fear and panic.

First off this type of news will come as a shock that can cause our brain to freeze and we wonder how we will cope. Once we take a step back and re-evaluate the situation some will even find this a relief, especially if they have a plan B. The problem is most of us don't have a plan B in place. If you happen to be finishing work with a decent severance package you may find that the early retirement news may even be welcome, giving you the opportunity to follow up with your other plans.

If finances are not an issue for you maybe you're ready to enjoy retirement life. On the other hand you may take some time to figure out what you want to do next. If you don't have a plan B once you get over the shock of being unemployed this is the perfect time to start exploring your options. Some will find it very helpful to brainstorm ideas with family members, friends, or even a life or retirement coach.

For financial reasons some of us have no other option than to continue to work even if we would be quite happy to start living the retirement lifestyle. If this happens to be the case we need to discover what we are able to do in order to continue to be a part of the workforce and make an income. This could mean finding alternative work or becoming an entrepreneur, either by offering our skills to others that require them or becoming involved in some other type of business.

Becoming self employed can be exhilarating, a new challenge and maybe something that you have always wanted to do but didn't want to risk passing up a regular job for. Some things happen to push us toward what we really want and force us to make changes that we keep putting off.

You may have a skill that someone else would like to learn and be willing to pay you for. Maybe you are fluent in a language and are able to teach others. What about tutoring students young and old? What about computer skills, cooking, carpentry, photography?  Sometimes we think that we are not good enough to teach others. What we need to remember is that when we are teaching beginners as long as we are good at the beginner lesson; that is what they're there for. They are not ready or wanting advanced instruction from you.

I liked to dance when I was young then I didn't do it for many years so about 10 years ago I took dance lessons. Not only was it a lot of fun but I learned to do a lot of the dance steps and sequences well. Sometimes there would be ads asking for instructors to teach beginners.  Friends sometimes asked “why don't you teach others how to dance”.  My response was usually I'm not a dance teacher, but I soon realised that some of the people that I met taking lessons were teaching beginner lessons. Although I never did teach anyone other than a few friends and family members I realized that I could have easily taught the basic beginner steps.

Maybe you excel in other talents. If you are a skilled golfer maybe you could teach others how you do it. If you are feeling that your skills are a little rusty and need a bit of polish maybe you could get some practice with a tool like the swing trainer by medicus and then take this new confidence out to others. I know several great artists that could teach others how to paint because they have the skill to do it.

Do you have a keen eye for color detail and good at decorating, staging a home, or even image consulting? Are you a talented gardener that can help others landscape their garden?  Some people really don’t have an idea what to do to create a beautiful garden as much as they would love to have one. They don’t know where to place plants for shade or sun. What type of water fountain they should install, a small water fountain or a large one, and they really would love to know.

The aging population is growing in leaps and bounds. This means there are more and more retirees with more time on their hands, most want to keep busy and are getting involved with things they have never done before nor had time for until now. Many want to learn new skills and someone has to teach them. Why not you?

Author Bio: Shirley Price lives in beautiful West Vancouver BC. She has presented workshops on retirement lifestyles and trained in a number of lifestyles skills including life coaching and NLP. She is a grandmother and is the publisher of a website for the over 50s www.lifebydesignover50.com