The lift of the present invention includes a lightweight, foldable lift that can be conveniently transported and stored in a home or car. According to a first preferred embodiment, the lift of the present invention may be operated as a caregiver lift to allow a typical caregiver to handle a patient under a wider variety of conditions and circumstances than the industrial sized lifts of the prior art. Further, the lift of the present invention is designed to allow a patient to be moved in all directions and to operate on a variety of surfaces.