Your Hidden Genious - Alex Ellison and Betsy Wills

Betsy Wills, cofounder of YouScience and a pioneer in aptitude awareness,

and expert career coach Alex Ellison have joined forces to write an essential

life and career guide, YOUR HIDDEN GENIUS: The Science-Backed Strategy to

Uncovering and Harnessing Your Innate Talents (Harvest; 1/21/2025). Their

research provides a custom-made road map to what makes you special,

revealing your distinct combination of natural talents, interests, and

personality traits—a mix as unique to you as your fingerprint.

“If your hidden genius were an actual rope, it would be a braided one with

three strands. The most critical and previously elusive of these is your aptitude

profile. But your interests and personality also play a key role in shaping your

career potential. Once you understand your aptitudes, you can discover the

career and life path you were meant to pursue,” the authors say in the

introduction of the book, noting that many great minds, such as Mark Twain,

went to great lengths to discover their aptitudes. Included in the book is access to the groundbreaking YouScience aptitude assessment, a series of game-like exercises that distill the science of aptitude measurement into a ninety-minute online experience, then pairs your results with its robust and proprietary career database. Previously available only to those with the time and money to take part in an in-person evaluation, YOUR HIDDEN GENIUS offers this time-tested and rigorous program to readers via a digital platform

A CAREER LANDSCAPE IN CRISIS: A significant and rising number of people are deeply unhappy at work, exacerbated by the pace of change, the gig economy, automation, and the encroachments of AI. According to a 2023 LinkedIn study, over 70% of workers planned to leave their jobs within a year.

BETTER DATA MEANS BETTER OUTCOMES: Just as data is transforming our world in medicine, logistics, and even personal relationships, so it can for our careers. The science-backed approach of YOUR HIDDEN GENIUS offers real information and personalized insights to drive better life and career decisions.

• RELEVANT FOR ALL AGES: Whether we are starting our careers, rethinking, retooling, reinventing, relaunching, or even retiring, tending to the ongoing challenges of our professional lives requires our constant attention and a flexible approach. YOUR HIDDEN GENIUS shows you how to stay ahead of obsolescence, burnout, and boredom.

• ELIMINATING BIAS: Traditional approaches to career guidance which have focused purely on interest surveys have failed many cohorts, from women to neurodivergent people, to the economically disadvantaged. Social messages and ingrained attitudes have inadvertently limited the scope of possibilities and left raw talent on the sidelines. The objective framework of the aptitude assessment corrects this imbalance and unlocks opportunities.

• CASE STUDIES: The book offers a deep dive into different aptitude profiles and detailed context for how to interpret your results, along with dozens of personal stories and first-person interviews with professionals across a diverse range of fields. These inspiring stories will give your confidence to pursue skills that are in alignment with your unique set of aptitudes. Offering science-backed results, real-life stories, and expert insights, Wills and Ellison demonstrate how self-awareness is the most important step toward a fulfilling life.

Offering science-backed results, real-life stories, and new insight into you, Wills and Ellison demonstrate how self-awareness is the most important step toward a fulfilling life.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Betsy Wills is the cofounder of YouScience, a national online psychometric-assessment service. She is a regular guest lecturer at Vanderbilt University and at New York University Stern School of Business and has been a featured speaker for TedX Women. She is also the Director of Marketing and Branding at Diversified Trust, a wealth management firm. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice and the Music City Center Authority in Nashville, Tennessee. Betsy is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and holds a Master’s of Education in Human Resource Development from Peabody College. She lives in Nashville.

Alex Ellison is the founder of Throughline Guidance, a college and career counseling practice. Her work as a consultant has allowed her to work with individuals and organizations around the world. She writes and lectures extensively on the subject of careers and college readiness and has been a featured speaker at SXSWedu, NYU’s Stern School of Business, Northwestern University’s Alumni Association, the Kuala Lumpur International Youth Discourse, and TedX. Alex holds a degree in German and business from Northwestern University and a master’s in public policy from the University of Nevada. She lives in Santa Cruz, California.

Learn more at www.yourhiddengenius.com.