That which draws our attention, gets more attention. 

A wheel that makes noise is more likely to receive oil than other wheels (that also might need oil). We have limited attention, and thus we give our attention to people, projects and problems that stand out. This proverb asserts that there is not necessarily a correlation between the things we give our attention to and the things that actually need our attention.

Another version of the proverb is "the squeaky wheel gets the grease," and though the origin is unknown, American humorist Josh Billings is commonly attributed through his poem "The Kicker" in 1870

 

Je, umewahi kuona muda huenda pole pole wakati unasubiri? Lakini kwa upande mwingine, ukivutiwa na mambo mengine, m muda huenda haraka.

Kwa mfano, ukisubiri kumwona daktari, muda ni mfupi ukiangalia simu yako au kusoma gazeti, badala ya kungoja tu kusikia jina lako liitwe.

Chimbuko cha methali hii ni Benjamin Franklin kwa Poor Richard's Almanac, hata hivyo haionekani hapo. Badala yake, Franklin aliitumia katika insha juu ya 'sumaku ya wanyama' mwaka 1785. 

Compare this simple, humble basket of fruit with a bag of lollipops. The fruit is ripe, juicy, packed full of vitamins -- it just sells itself. The lollipops, on the other hand, scream for our attention with explosive slogans and neon colors. But underneath the shiny packaging, it's really just plain sugar with some food coloring and artificial flavors.

Like other primates, humans find fruit attractive because it gives us energy and nutrition. Candy gives us energy, but it doesn't give us real nutrition. It just does a very clever job pretending to be fruit. Don't fall for it!

A good thing doesn't need to advertise, because quality speaks for itself. As the economists would say, demand exceeds supply.  Many advertisements seems to promise us happiness, beauty, love, wealth or respect. But ask yourself, does the ad promise more than the product can really deliver? Coca-Cola isn't a love potion.

This proverb reminds us of the enduring value of true quality and competence over flashy appearances. It's often used to express skepticism about a person who brags or praises themselves excessively.

We should all strive to be more like the basket of fruit: simple, authentic and good. These qualities will draw other people to you — at least the kind of people who understand that “chema chajiuza, kibaya chajitembeza”

Related proverbs:

One day a renown businessman wanted to hire an assistant. He received many resumes, but only two candidates met his high standards: Alice and Bob. To help him decide, he called both, and they each agreed to come in for an interview the following morning. "9 AM. Look sharp and don't be late." The manager warned.

The next morning Alice woke up early, donned her best suit and got to the village bus station at 8:00am. "Better safe than sorry," she thought.  On the way to town, the front of the minibus began to smoke. The driver pulled over in the bush and told all the passengers to get out. Just then it started to rain. Alice tried to wave down each bus that passed, but they were all full, so she had to walk on foot. 9am came and went, but Alice was still miles from town and the rain was getting harder. "I must keep going." she thought, "Better late than never."

Meanwhile in town, Bob woke up in his apartment, and saw the sun was high in the sky. He sat up suddenly. "Oh no! Why did my alarm fail?" He looked at the clock on his wall: 9:00 am. "Forget it. Even if I leave right now, I'll still be late, and they'll never hire someone who is late." So Bob, feeling depressed, went back to sleep.

At 10:30, Alice finally made it to the office and knocked on the door, her neatly pressed suit now dripping and muddy. The businessman answered.
"I warned you to be on time, yet you are over an hour late, how can you expect me to give you this job?"
Then Alice explained all that had happened.
"I have learned a lot about you from this story, Alice. When you have a purpose in mind, you persist despite and obstacles and don't give up, even when it seems too late. In fact, you are the first to arrive today. The other candidate did not show up at all. The job is yours."

Great achievements and inventions often begin with a lot of failures, but in the long run, persistence and learning are rewarded.  People make a lot of mistakes (to err is human), but life is very patient with us, giving us lots of chances to learn from them and try again, as long as we don't give up.

Some say the proverb "Better late than never" comes from The Canterbury Tales, written by Chaucer around the 1390s.

Others trace the proverb to an even earlier origin, in Livy's History of Rome, written around 20 BC:

A similar saying in English is "It's never too late." 
Here's a proverb that relates to the same principle in Hindi:

And here's an English proverb that often means the opposite of this one: