A FINNISH-British author has just published a new book called Sisu - a self-help book exploring the secrets of Finland's can-do mindset.

Jesse Karjalainen, 45, lives in Chippenham but he has returned to his ancestral homeland for the wisdom of Sisu - a word that encapsulates the Finnish qualities of down-to-earth determination and resilience.

His new tome follows in the tradition of books on hygge - the Danish concept of coziness and comfortable conviviality - or ikigai, the Japanese practice of examining the source of value in your life.

"Sisu is about a mindset," Jesse explained. "It's about being happy, successful and having resilience."

Jesse was born in Sweden, to Finnish parents. His mother travelled often, and by the time he was 13, Jesse had visited 42 countries. He grew up in Australia, but moved to Finland when he was 23, where he for seven years.

He moved to Britain in 2003, and is now also a British citizen, working for Chippenham tech company SciSys, married to Helen and with a daughter called Josefin.

Jesse has also worked in publishing, and written a previous book called The Joy of English, a guide to the usage of the English language.

He started his new book about a year ago.

"Sisu is about having a real-world attitude, bring realistic, rather than setting yourself up for disappointment. It's about how to keep going, understanding that failure is part of achieving success," he said.

Jesse attributes Finland's extraordinary achievements to this quality - in terms of the country being rated the happiest nation on earth, with an education system that consistently ranks as the best, and forward looking environmental policies.

In the books he describes Sisu as "a resilience born in swamps" and has sections on resilience, belonging and purpose.

His book is available as an ebook on Amazon, and he hopes to find a publisher for a print edition.