Pulleys and levers are devices that allow you to exert much less force than what would be required to lift something directly. You don't get something for nothing, however - if the force goes down by some factor the distance through which you exert the force must go up by the same factor to compensate.

In other words, the same amount of work is done whether you apply a force directly or whether you use a pulley or lever to exert a smaller force.

Practical devices that operate on this principle are wrenches, car jacks, crowbars, and wheelbarrows.