How do I make a lever that powers nearby blocks?

I've made a simple lever by having 2 blocks, one being the off lever and the other the on lever.
Right clicking the off lever replaces the block with the on lever and vise versa.
The on lever does emit a redstone signal, however, it does not power the block it is on like a normal lever.
I've tried looking through forums and haven't found a way of fixing this.

help would be great! :D