<P> Harris describes Barney as a man who "likes to create crazy situations and then sit back and watch it all go down ." He is an opportunist who manipulates any situation so that it goes his way . He is also highly competitive, and will take on "challenges" to complete outlandish tasks in order to prove his worth . He is proud and stubborn, and attempts to stand by his word no matter what . In "I Heart NJ", for example, he refuses to put down his fist unless someone offers him a fist bump . By the end of the episode, he has the same fist elevated in a sling after struggling to keep his fist up throughout the episode . In "Lucky Penny", when the others do not believe that he can run the New York City Marathon the next day without training, Barney immediately agrees to do so . Although he succeeds, he is unable to walk afterwards . Although he thinks of himself as worldly, Barney is sometimes extremely naive, believing many lies his mother told him well into adulthood, such as believing that Bob Barker is his father . </P> <P> Barney, like Harris himself, is an illusionist . His favorite types of magic tricks involve fire, as seen in the tenth episode of the second season, "Single Stamina" and in the fourth episode of the fourth season, "Intervention". Barney uses magic tricks mostly to pick up women . His most common method of picking up women is telling them elaborate lies about himself, often using an alias . Many of his schemes for picking up women are in a book he has written called "The Playbook", which is exposed in the episode "The Playbook". He has commitment issues, as evidenced in his reluctance to put a label on his relationship with Robin and the fact that she is one of the few women he has actually dated since the show started . </P> <P> Barney is very well - connected and is the most affluent member of the group . He frequently buys expensive items--such as a last - minute plane ticket to San Francisco, thousands of dollars in postage stamps, or two televisions specifically for smashing in frustration--in the spur of the moment . He is also something of a metrosexual; he waxes his chest, enjoys manicures and has an extensive knowledge of designer labels and gourmet food . However, he is also seen to have a gambling problem that he occasionally gets under control, only to relapse as seen in several episodes such as "Atlantic City", where he has gambling buddies in the Chinese Triad, and "Monday Night Football". </P> <P> Although The Early Show described him as "Utterly devoid of morality", Barney lives by the "Bro Code", his own code of ethics . Despite his overall questionable character, according to creator Craig Thomas, Barney is "a pretty fragile character who's really afraid of being alone . He just wants people to like him, to be important to people, and to have disciples who follow his word ." He has displayed a softer, kinder side on several occasions, however, such as preventing Marshall from sleeping with other women when he and Lily break up, and persuading Lily to come back to Marshall . </P>

When did barney fall in love with robin