by David Specht

I have a 40-minute commute to work each day. For the longest time, I would listen to news/sports/talk radio while I drove. Not any more. As someone who wants to grow and improve, I realized I was wasting a valuable opportunity in the car.

Most podcasts are updated each week at the most. Therefore you can listen to more than one if you commute five-days-a-week.

Here are my 3 favorites and why. I am not being compensated in any way for sharing them with you. The titles are linked to the iTunes page where they reside. I am sure there are other ways to subscribe.

1. Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership Podcast
This is by far the best business and leadership podcast I have ever come across. As a longtime fan of Ramsey, I subscribed to this podcast from its beginning. It is a combination of lessons taught by Dave and awesome interviews with some of the best out there in Leadership and Business. Host Chris LoCurto and his team do an outstanding job and the information is invaluable. While it is only updated every other week, it is worth the wait. You find yourself continually checking to see if the newest episode has been posted.

2. Michael Hyatt’s This Is Your Life Podcast
I first heard of Michael during an EntreLeadership Podcast. The interview was astounding. Immediately, I bought his book, Platform, Getting Noticed in a Noisy World. As I became subscriber of his blog, I learned he was also a podcaster. I gave it a try and I was hooked. Some of his episodes are geared to those trying to get published, but I have yet to listen and not learn something. Michael has a way of sharing his life experiences and turning them into life lessons. A very cool feature of This Is Your Life is the fact that Michael takes questions via voicemail. He lets his listeners know the subject ahead of time and they can submit their questions. It is a very cool and helpful feature of this already great podcast. New episodes are uploaded weekly.

3. The Mark Gungor Show
If you are a Christian who is tired of watered-down, all-too-serious Christianity, then this is the Podcast for you.  While the issues are dedicated to Marriage and Relationships, Mark will tackle just about any subject, with truth and comedy. Fair warning though, due to the subject matter, this podcast is not for the faint of heart. Listeners send in their questions/situations via email, and Mark (along with his co-hosts) tackle them in a brutal and often hilarious way. The precepts are strictly biblical with “no holds barred.” This podcast isn’t for everyone, though. If you are easily offended by someone who doesn’t run his answers through the filter of “feelings,” then you might not want to subscribe. However, if you want real answers to real issues, this podcast is worth your time.  It is updated daily, so you might want to take that into consideration as well.

These are my “Top 3.” If you have favorites of your own, let us know on Facebook or Twitter who they are and why they are great. Also please include a link. I would love to check them out.