Your Hidden Genius: The Science-Backed Strategy to Uncovering and Harnessing Your Innate Talents―An Innovative Psychology How-To with a Career-Focused Approach

by Betsy Wills, Alex Ellison

A one-of-its-kind guide that offers you rare and surprising insights into what makes you you. Featuring access to the innovative YouScience aptitude assessment, Your Hidden Genius reveals your innate talents, interests, and personality traits along with the infinite paths that can lead to your utmost happiness and career success.

We are all hardwired to think and work differently: no two minds or people are alike.

Do you love brainstorming sessions and juggling multiple assignments or are you happiest when you are given space to concentrate on a single mission? Are you a three-dimensional thinker who enjoys tangible projects or are you more at home solving abstract puzzles? Would you say you are a social butterfly who talks to everyone, or someone who prefers a quiet, focused group to large crowds?

We are all different, but we all have some hidden genius within us—it’s time to find yours.

Your Hidden Genius provides a custom-made road map to what makes you special and brilliant, revealing your distinct combination of natural talents, interests, and personality traits—a mix as unique to you as your fingerprint. With the instant appeal of Enneagrams and Strengthsfinder, Your Hidden Genius offers a key difference by focusing on scientific testing rather than self-reported answers as a means to unlock your potential. Included in the book is access to the groundbreaking YouScience aptitude assessment, a series of gamelike 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. You’ll uncover new opportunities for work and leisure that suit both your interests and your talents.

Betsy Wills, cofounder of YouScience and a pioneer in aptitude awareness, and expert career coach Alex Ellison joined forces to write this essential life and career guide based on this cutting-edge assessment. In these pages, they offer a deep dive into different aptitude profiles and in-depth 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. Their research explores the rich and varied ways careers can unfold to both inform and inspire your own journey. Whether you’re just starting out or pivoting mid-career, Your Hidden Genius will guide you through today’s complex and shifting professional landscape and be your indispensable resource through every twist and turn of the road.

With science-backed results, real-life stories, and rare insight into you, Your Hidden Genius explains why self-awareness is the most important step toward a fulfilling and meaningful life. Once you understand your aptitudes, you can discover the career and life path you were meant to pursue.

It’s time to discover your hidden genius—and embrace your life’s work.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Self Help, Personal Development

256 pages, Hardcover

Published January 21, 2025

About the author

Betsy Wills is the cofounder of YouScience, a national online psychometric-assessment service based in Nashville, Tennessee. 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.

Reviews

[Katie]

I read this with my oldest son to help him increase his confidence (very shy with adhd and autism). This book had fantastic tools and strategies that we can use based on evidence. It was an easy read and engaging for both of us.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was very good at outlining he different traits and strengths a person can have and how to capitalize on these to grow and find enjoyment in life. I really enjoyed the breakdown of the core and Amplifiers were as it really rang true for how I see things. Being able to have more than just the assesmenr but the extra information to help understand it was outstanding. Highly recommend this book for anyone who is trying to determine what to do next, be it going to college or seeking a degree, or looking for a new career.

[Sue Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not starting my career, and this book was perfect not only for those looking for their purpose in life, but those making life changes. This book helped me a great deal. I couldn't have liked it more. If you want to bring out your own hidden genius, read this book.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley Even though for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#YourHiddenGenius #NetGalley #WilliamMorrow #BetsyWills #AlexEllison

[Meade Le Lay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect book for people who are looking to start their working life, transition to a new job, or just want to better understand how aptitudes are engrained into our daily lives. It was a quick read full of stories that resonated with me and I really recommend!

[Aeriel Halstead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway. I'm a psychologist, which gives me a unique perspective. Many of the tests we have, I can't take, because I've already been trained in how to administer them. The assessment was a fun opportunity to learn more about myself and my personal strengths. I would caution anyone from seeing things with too much certainty, as most results were based on one activity. It's unlikely that you'll get the most valid results from only one subtest. But it is a way to begin thinking about your strengths and it offers a number of interesting career and hobby related activities. The book was generally well written, although long winded at times. I really enjoyed the assessment!

[AB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful and insightful! They describe the different characteristics clearly enough that the aptitude test isn’t entirely necessary, but definitely a helpful resource. I learned a lot about myself!

[Sarah Poling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a treasure trove of how to choose what to do with your talents, skills, passions, amplifiers, and how to best use the knowledge of who you are in your life! As the mother of three teens-young adults I’m ready to have them take the try youscience and work on career paths!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book is an optimistic antidote to so many of today's worrying headlines about the future of work. Whether you are a young person weighing the cost/benefit analysis of a college education, a mid-career professional with concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on your chosen vocation, or a new retiree looking for volunteer opportunities that match your skillset, Your Hidden Genius has wisdom to help you find the best way forward. The book (and the accompanying YouScience assessment) helps readers identify their aptitudes and understand which professions best match up with their results. Authors Betsy Wills and Alex Ellison posit that we thrive in occupations at the intersection of our aptitudes and personality/interests. This seems so self-evident that it's easy to forget how many of us chase careers without ever considering either component.

I had an opportunity to take the YouScience assessment about a decade ago. The results gave me clarity on how to play to my strengths in my profession. The natural byproduct of that understanding was increased confidence and joy at work.

As I started reading the book I thought how helpful it would have been if I had learned about aptitudes as a high school student. By the time I finished I became more convinced that readers of any age and stage could benefit from Your Hidden Genius. Life is changing around us all the time. Even if the application of our aptitudes in the world continues to evolve, surely knowing what they are better equips us to experience the confidence and joy that come when we find ways to share our hidden genius with the world.

[Arnina Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your Hidden Genius gave me language for things I’ve felt my whole life but couldn’t explain. The framework around aptitudes (especially being a “future focuser” and “specialist”) was a total unlock—suddenly my career indecision made sense, and I had a path forward.
What I loved:
* Clear, research-backed explanations without the fluff
* Concrete exercises and tools I could use immediately (the discussion guide + AI prompts are gold)
* Actionable guidance on managing competing aptitudes
Biggest outcome: I shifted from vague job hunting to intentionally creating 3 real options, with a plan to run 50–100 conversations in a few weeks. It’s already moving me forward.
If you’re at a career crossroads (or leading a team), this book is worth every minute. It’s not just insight—it’s a playbook. Highly recommend.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book packs a punch, but its goal is simple: to help you live your best life. And figure out how.

We’re all aware of aptitude tests, but experts Wills and Ellison break it down and explain the science behind them in a clear, exciting, convincing way. And fun, like you’re having a chat with them. Best of all, the book includes a link to a free, comprehensive aptitude test you can take yourself to identify your innate talents, making this a gift that keeps on giving. For anyone embarking on a new career, considering a change, or just looking for the right hobby that will enrich their lives, this book is an invaluable launching pad. And a perfect start to the New Year. Very much recommended.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, along with the YouScience Aptitude Assessment is a fantastic resource. Whether you're exploring possible careers, considering a job change, or just want to understand the way you work better, the knowledge gained from this assessment is incredibly valuable. Personally, it really helped to illuminate why I gravitate toward certain parts of my job and how to handle things that may not fit as well or bring me as much fulfillment. With real-world examples and plenty of science-backed info, I think this information would be helpful to absolutely anyone. I will most definitely be having my high school-aged children take the assessment and I love having this book to give even more detail into how the assessment works!

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book isn't very useful without the assessments, but I found the assessments were ironically biased. The point was to assess aptitudes and not learned skills, but then told us to sit and take a test without distraction. The results are applied to habits and unconscious processes in the everyday world, which is not a quiet, non-distracting classroom. Basically, "I did what you told me to" does not equate to effortless thinking in 3D or seeing numerical patterns everywhere.

The career matches weren't a total dud, but half of my strong matches were [fill in the blank] engineer thanks to strong aptitudes I do NOT want to use constantly. I did like that the aptitude comparisons helped weed out job suggestions that seemed most incongruent.

[Ariel Trouche · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are considering a career move, I highly recommend this book. Also, if you’ve got kids headed to college or in college or just out of college, I recommend having your kids take the test! After college, my oldest child couldn’t decide on a career in the Navy or going to law school. This test and process helped him tremendously. It helped him decide his short term and potential long-term career path.

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to recieve this book through a Goodreads giveaway! A huge thank you to the Author and sponsors of the giveaway!! This is a book I may never have discovered and that would have been a shame. I learned so much and it helped me to really reflect inwards and find my strengths, strengths I didnt even know I had. I feel so lucky to have won this and the assessment that was included as well was incredibly insightful and valuable.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this for my college kid, but after reading it, I was intrigued, and decided to take the assessment tests - found them extremely accurate in my aptitudes! A great tool for those starting out in their career paths, but also for us older folks that like to stay curious and still on the learning path.

[Melodia Primorosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was amazed at how accurate the results were. Everything confirmed what I already knew about myself and my work preference as well as my way of being. I greatly recommend this book. Thank you to the authors!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The assessment was a bit of a life changer for me- to understand your talents and God given gifts and skill set more fully is a great advantage! A blessing to know what hobbies, careers, areas to serve, etc would be in line with how God equipped you specifically.

[Laing Rikkers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a longtime fan of YouScience and found this book to be fantastic. It’s a great gift for both people coming out of school and friends and transition.

[Sara Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for picking me as a giveaway winner. I thought this book had some interesting information.

[Deniz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quite insightful full review incoming!

[Beth Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent theory and applications!

[Farrar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I listened to the authors on a podcast and thought the concept of this book and their test seemed so interesting and practical. Maybe helpful for me to optimize my choices of volunteer work, hobbies, and eventually another career. But also, something that might be useful for my children as they try to choose their career paths. I enjoyed the start of the book and taking the test, but unfortunately, it all went downhill from there. The test didn't really reveal anything useful. What it did suppose wasn't necessarily accurate and it often felt like a long leap to assume certain characteristics from such a simple test. Usually, if you were good at the test task, you would be directed to one type of job. If you were bad at the task, the book would infer that you must be good at something else as the other end of the spectrum. But if you are bad at one thing that doesn't mean you are necessarily good at another. Nor are you necessarily bad at something if you are good at something at that other end of the spectrum. Overall, the chapters explaining the results were boring and made little sense. This coming from someone who excelled at all of the tests btw.