“The early bird catches the worm.”
What does it mean?
Whoever arrives first has the best chance of success; some opportunities are only available to the first competitors.
Where does it come from?
This is first recorded in John Ray’s A Collection of English Proverbs 1670, 1678:
The early bird catcheth the worm.”
Clearly, the title of the work indicates that this was considered proverbial even in the 17th century.