The future of work isn’t gadgets and gizmos. The future of work is focused work: being able to block out distractions and apply our big, beautiful brains to long projects and abstract tasks.

Paul Shirley is no stranger to this challenge. He graduated summa cum laude from Iowa State with a degree in mechanical engineering while helping lead the basketball team to back-to-back Big XII championships. He then went on to a decade-long professional basketball career that put him on 17 different teams, including three in the NBA. He’s since written five books, taught English and creative writing, and started two businesses, including his focused-work incubator, The Process, in Denver.

Paul understands the benefit of focused work. But perhaps more importantly, he’s able to explain focused work through a unique (and entertaining) lens—his own experience as a professional athlete. Sitting down to focus on a blog or a PowerPoint is no different from stepping up to the free throw line in the NBA. There are distractions. There is self-doubt. And it is hard. But there are ways to slay these dragons and those who can do so will be miles ahead of the competition: focused work superheroes who won’t just get more done than the competition. They’ll also be happier, more fulfilled, and can manage long knowledge-work careers.

Paul has done talks, storytelling, and even some stand-up comedy. His speaking superpowers are honesty, vulnerability, humor, and the ability to demystify complicated concepts in simple and direct language.