The male ad executives at company were not impressed with Ruth's doll. Neither were mostly male buyers who saw her debut at American Toy Show in 1959. But as Ruth had guessed, little girls loved her - and 350,000 Barbies were sold that very first year, which was a record. Mattel introduced more dolls to Barbie line over next several years, some of which were named after other Handler family members, such as Ken -- Ruth's son -- and Stacie, Todd and Cheryl, who were named after Handlers' grandchildren.

All was going well until 1970, Ruth was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a difficult time, bad decisions were made and Handlers' eventually left successful company they had founded. But Ruth not only survived her bout with cancer; her experience inspired her next business venture.

Ruth told Los Angeles Times about her fruitless search for natural-looking prosthetic breast. What was available at time was less than adequate. "I looked at shapeless glob that lay in bottom of my brassiere and thought, 'My god, people in this business are men who don't have to wear these,' " she told Times. Once again, Ruth discovered a niche to fill.

Ruth found a designer who created a new prosthetic to her specifications. Made of liquid silicone and polyurethane, it looked and felt natural. Her stroke of genius was her realization that like shoes, it needed to be made up in "lefts" and "rights." Then Ruth assembled a sales team made up of other breast cancer survivors, who demonstrated her new product to department store buyers and helped train their sales staffs on how to fit their customers. In 1991, Ruth sold her company to a division of Kimberly-Clark and retired.

"Women--and men too--can do almost anything they set their mind to," said Ruth. "You have to believe in what you want to do and have courage of your convictions."

Good advice for us all. Rest in peace, Ruth.

3. Listen to your heart. Sounds easy enough, but by time we're adults, most of us have stopped listening to our hearts and go only with our heads. Those two must reconnect in order to find your real self. It's easy to become accustomed to thinking about your feelings instead of really feeling them. Instead of asking yourself what you think about something, ask yourself what you feel. Ask yourself why it's important. What are you comfortable with? What's difficult for you? Be careful not to get hung-up on a specific goal, when what you're really after is a specific feeling. Keep an open mind to feelings, and be willing to adjust methods you use to achieve them.

4. Uncover your natural strengths and your natural talents. Trust your instinct. Look back at your childhood, and make a list of things that you used to love to do. Ask why you stopped doing them. If you always loved adventure, it's a good bet that's a part of REAL you. Notice what things you now do during your day - even if only for a few minutes - when you feel most happy. If you have no idea what real you is, begin to experiment with things that you find you used to like.

5. Look back again over your life, and begin to remember times when you felt happiest. What were you doing? Who were you with? What skills were you using? Be willing to tell truth about who you are, and what you want in your life. Stop trying to "be" who or what you think you ought to be. Instead, determine that you are comfortable with what you want in your life, and how you want to address world.