A question on learning.

I've been playing guitar for the past 5 years but only within the past 6 months did I start taking it seriously. I'm trying to learn lead, and have been taking 3 months of lessons so far. I've also been reading a theory book on how to play major/minor scales and pentatonic scales. I've started to get a little discouraged because I can't seem to get away from playing boring scales with no musical sound whatsoever, even when I try it just sounds like a scale. What are your alls thoughts and input on how you became really good at playing/improvising. What should I focus on?