soil of life

Just thinking about good ground today. Matthew 13:23 Jesus wants us to plant our seeds in good ground: hear the word, strive to gain an understanding, and use this understanding to do good works. Some areas of my life are going great, as I incorporate the word into my character. But I still have unproductive ground. How can I go about plowing my wayside, removing my stones, destroying the thorns, and fertilizing the soil? I guess it's similar to the era when the Saints took a piece of arid dessert and made it bloom like a rose. It didn't happen overnight, but constant, diligent effort to modify and beautify the barren ground did come to fruition. That's what I need: constant, diligent effort to modify and beautify my character or the soil of my life. Then I may bloom like a rose and bring forth worthy life fruits.