Early tournament strategy

[cunningham22]

I need help adjusting my tournament strategy in the early stages. I play a T-A game and usually make it through to the top third or better. However, I often find myself a medium or short stack late in the game because of my tightness. How can I adjust my play to accumulate chips early on and not rely on big hands that do not come often? My play at final tables is good even if I do not have a big stack - even better if I do. I just need help creating situations where I need to play the short stack strategy in the later stages in order to survive.

For the information, I usually play 10-20 person $20 NL tourneys, with experienced players. I played a 90 person tournament this summer and finished 17th, but I did have the help of a good situation in a large pot.

Thanks in advance for advice.