Additional Coverage:
- I collided with a tractor-trailer on my 39th birthday. It was my wake-up call to leave my job and start my own company. (businessinsider.com)
From Collision to Command Joy: Local Woman Christina Jones Embraces New Chapter After Life-Altering Event
WASHINGTON D.C. – For years, Christina Jones, 40, a D.C.-based CEO, found herself caught in the relentless current of a demanding career, constantly striving to prove her worth. But a harrowing car collision on her 39th birthday served as a stark reminder of life’s fleeting nature, ultimately prompting a profound shift in her priorities and leading her to launch her own thriving business, Command Joy Co.
Jones’s journey, a testament to resilience and self-discovery, began with the typical pressures of a fast-paced professional life. As a new mom to son Xavier, then less than a year old, she recalls working late into the night, even manipulating email schedules to mask her intense dedication.
“Women, especially Black women, are so often trying to prove ourselves because we want to show we belong,” Jones shared, reflecting on the deeply ingrained belief that she had to work “twice as much to get half of what everyone else has.” This ambition fueled her legal career, including years in the office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.
While the long hours were manageable before children, the arrival of Xavier, now 5, didn’t immediately alter her drive to “create so many things in my life and demonstrate my worthiness.”
The pivotal moment arrived on January 18, 2025, her 39th birthday. En route to a celebratory dinner with her husband, Jason, and two friends, their car was involved in a collision with a tractor-trailer.
While fortunately only sustaining minor injuries due to low speeds, the incident was traumatic. “The experience scared me into thinking that I could have been taken out,” Jones recounted.
The timing, on her birthday, underscored the fragility of life and the finite nature of time.
This brush with mortality propelled Jones to seriously consider a path she had been contemplating for months: launching her own consulting firm. Despite the security of a six-figure salary, comprehensive health insurance, and retirement benefits, the collision clarified her need to “listen, not sit on my dreams, and take this bet on myself.”
With the unwavering support of her husband and mother, who reminded her, “What’s the worst thing that can happen? You’re an attorney.
You can go get another job if it doesn’t work out,” Jones made the leap. She resigned in June 2025, serving two months’ notice, and officially launched Command Joy Co. last August.
Her firm empowers individuals in the nonprofit sector to transform their passion into sustainable impact.
Today, Jones finds immense satisfaction in guiding creatives through the complexities of the business world. While acknowledging the potential isolation of entrepreneurship, she actively combats it by regularly meeting with other business owners to exchange ideas.
Crucially, her family remains her top priority. “Having Jason and Xavier forces me to unplug in a good way,” she noted.
Jones’s story is a powerful reminder that life’s unexpected turns can lead to profound self-discovery and a better work-life balance. “Just because you were something in one season doesn’t mean you have to stay like that in the seasons that follow,” she wisely concluded, embracing a life that is now a “slow unfold.”